US Stock Market today: Wall Street surges ahead of Fed rate decision, Nvidia hits $5 trillion valuation

US stock markets surged on Wednesday, bolstered by optimism ahead of the highly anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate decision, and as tech giant Nvidia reached $5 trillion landmark valuation.

Nvidia, the dominant force in artificial intelligence chips, continued its relentless growth trajectory. Having become the first company to breach $4 trillion in market capitalisation (m-cap) in July, it has now become the first to achieve the $5 trillion following announcements of new ventures focused on artificial intelligence technology.

The markets are bracing for a deluge of earnings reports later in the day from several major tech companies, including those from Microsoft, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), and Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook).

While analysts have largely priced in a quarter percentage-point interest rate cut, attention remains firmly fixed on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference. Investors will be scrutinising his comments for any signals regarding the outlook for the central bank’s December meeting.

As of 12:32 p.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 added 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5% higher.

As of 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 added 0.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% higher.

At 09:31 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 103.21 points, or 0.25%, to 47,809.58, the S&P 500 gained 16.90 points, or 0.24%, to 6,907.66 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 157.50 points, or 0.66%, to 23,984.99.

Gainers and Losers

Nvidia shares climbed by 4.7%, surging past the milestone $5 trillion after Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang announced $500 billion worth of AI chip orders and confirmed plans to construct seven supercomputers for the US government.

Among other megacap stocks, Meta and Microsoft traded flat, while Alphabet registered a 0.3% rise ahead of their respective earnings results, which are due after the markets close.

Boeing shares lost 3% after the planemaker disclosed a charge of nearly $5 billion related to further delays in its 777X jet programme.

Caterpillar stock soared nearly 10% following a much better-than-expected report on its third quarter profit.

Elsewhere, Seagate Technology shares rallied 13.5% after the company issued a forecast for its second-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street estimates, and Verizon shares advanced 3% after beating expectations for quarterly profit.

Bullion Market

Gold prices climbed on Wednesday ahead of a pivotal Fed rate decision.

Spot gold was up 1.4% at $4,007.47 per ounce, as of 9:45 a.m. ET (1345 GMT). US gold futures for December delivery gained 1% to $4,023.3 per ounce.

Elsewhere, spot silver rose 2.3% to $48.11 per ounce, platinum edged up 1.5% at $1,608.95 and palladium added 1.2% to $1,409.75.

Crude Oil

Oil prices were steady on Wednesday as investors assessed the impact of Western sanctions against leading Russian crude producers.

Brent traded above $64 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $60.