AI Firms Elevate Nasdaq Amid Inflation Stability

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained on strong quarterly reports from AI practitioners like CoreWeave, amid mild inflation data suggesting the Federal Reserve will maintain current interest rates. The positive market response was buoyed by advances in AI and semiconductor stocks, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher on Wednesday, spurred by robust quarterly results from AI infrastructure companies such as CoreWeave. Market confidence grew as mild inflation figures supported expectations that the Federal Reserve would not alter interest rates in the upcoming September meeting.

The U.S. consumer price index showed minimal growth in July, with gasoline prices decreasing for the second consecutive month. This benign inflation trend has eased fears of an imminent rate hike by the Federal Reserve, noted Robert Pavlik, a senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

In addition to CoreWeave's promising second-quarter earnings, data center operators like IREN and Applied Digital saw gains. Chipmakers Nvidia and Micron Technology also experienced growth. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions linger as discussions between the U.S. and Iran remain stalled amid ongoing shipping attacks.