US stocks closed higher on Wednesday with mega-cap tech rising, though Nvidia wavered throughout the session. Traders are eagerly awaiting upcoming inflation data to guide them on potential rate cuts. Major indexes were mostly flat or slightly lower, while Treasury yields saw an increase.
Nvidia’s shares fluctuated on Wednesday, initially selling off before rebounding slightly by the end of the session. The chipmaker experienced a significant loss in value over the past few days, instilling doubt among investors in the future of the artificial intelligence-fueled technology trade. Despite this, tech stocks, including the Nasdaq Composite, saw gains, with mega-cap names like Amazon reaching a $2 trillion market cap for the first time.
Tech stocks have had a strong first half of the year, with the Nasdaq up 20% in 2024 so far. Traders are now preparing for the rollout of Personal Consumption Expenditures inflation data by the end of the week, Wall Street expects prices to have risen by 2.6% year over year. A higher-than-anticipated inflation reading could lead to fewer or even zero rate cuts this year.
Treasury yields saw an increase on Wednesday, with the 10-year bond rising by eight basis points to 4.318% and the two-year note up by five basis points to 4.745%. In other financial news, West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell slightly, gold prices decreased, and Bitcoin saw a small decline at the closing bell.