Wall Street stocks shook off early weakness amid the deepening conflict between Russia and Ukraine and ended mostly higher ahead of Nvidia results.
U.S. stocks spent much of early trading in a difficult position as Russia threatened major retaliation after Ukraine fired longer-range U.S. missiles at its territory for the first time.
In particular, Russian leader Vladimir Putin's nuclear threat has unsettled investors.
Later, however, two of the three major indexes turned positive, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index ending at 18,987.47, up 1.0%.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 5,916.98, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 43,268.94.
“We’re kind of on our own continent here,” said Kim Forrest of Bokeh Capital Partners about U.S. investor sentiment.
“Over time, we’re going to be hit by an escalation of tensions. But we’re going to shake that off today because tomorrow we’re getting Nvidia.”
Artificial intelligence star Nvidia gained nearly 5% ahead of Wednesday’s results.
Other tech giants also advanced, with Netflix and Tesla gaining at least 1.5%.
Walmart rose 3% as it raised its full-year forecast on stronger earnings. Walmart’s U.S. business, which accounts for about two-thirds of revenue, posted solid 5.3% growth in comparable-store sales.
But Lowe's fell 4.6% as it raised some of its full-year forecasts. However, the home improvement retailer still expects full-year comparable sales to decline by at least 3% in 2024. | BGNES
