U.S. stocks rose Wednesday as shares of artificial intelligence companies rebounded, bringing the S&P 500 close to recovering last week’s sell-off, The Associated Press and Reuters reported. The S&P 500 gained 1.3% to 7,619.38, the Nasdaq composite rose 1.6% to 25,466.19 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 254.60 points, or 0.5%, to 52,486.49, according to Reuters. The AP said the S&P 500 finished within 2.6% of the all-time high it set last month.
CoreWeave, which rents out access to AI chips over the cloud, led the move, jumping 24.7% after its quarterly report, both outlets reported. The AP said the company lost less money than analysts expected and raised its full-year revenue forecast above analysts’ estimates. City A.M. reported that third-quarter revenue rose 168% to $3.66 billion and that CoreWeave now expects full-year revenue of $13 billion to $13.3 billion. Reuters reported that the company said it expects to become profitable on an adjusted basis in the first half of 2028.
Investors have questioned how CoreWeave and other AI infrastructure companies will finance their expansion as higher bond yields make borrowing more expensive, the AP reported. Chief Executive Michael Intrator said the company expects roughly $9 billion in customer prepayments and deposits over the next three months, along with other sources of cash, according to the AP.
The gains spread across the industry. Micron Technology rose 11.9% and Broadcom 4%, the AP reported. Reuters said the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index jumped 5.7%, with every component advancing, and Nebius Group climbed 15.4%. Nvidia rose 2.9%, the AP reported; Reuters said the chipmaker had shed about $430 billion in market value over the previous two sessions. The AP reported that Nvidia’s board is investigating Chief Executive Jensen Huang after he acknowledged a relationship with a businesswoman who allegedly passed intelligence and advanced chips to China.
Worries about a slowdown in AI spending had grown after Democrats’ sweeping wins in last week’s midterm elections, the AP reported, amid concern that new state leadership could restrict the construction of data centers. Reuters cited investor concern about more regulation of the AI sector.
Interest rates remained in focus. Hotter-than-expected inflation data on Tuesday led traders to fully price in a Federal Reserve rate increase of at least a quarter of a percentage point next month, Reuters reported, citing CME FedWatch. The U.S. bond market was closed Wednesday for Veterans Day. Brent crude rose 1.4% to $92.76 a barrel, the AP reported, and homebuilder D.R. Horton fell 1.5%.