Wall Street drifts higher after losing streak knocked it off its record

US stock indexes are on the rise this Wednesday, following a four-day losing streak that knocked Wall Street off its record high and sent some of its shining stars into a tailspin.

The S&P 500 saw an increase of 0.2% in early trading. The Nasdaq composite, which suffered the most losses the previous day, rose by 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind, falling by 14 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 9:35am Eastern time. The stock market has been under pressure due to weaker-than-expected economic reports, including a couple indicating U.S. households' growing pessimism about inflation and tariffs pushed by President Donald Trump.

Big Tech and other high-growth stocks experienced some of the steepest drops, despite their previously unstoppable momentum. Super Micro Computer, one of the stocks that skyrocketed amidst the artificial-intelligence technology frenzy, lost nearly a quarter of its value over the last four days.

However, it bounced back with an 18.4% surge on Wednesday after finally filing its annual report for the fiscal year that ended in June. The company, which sells servers used in AI and other computing, had delayed filing its annual report and other required forms after its former accounting firm raised concerns about some of its financial reporting and governance.

Super Micro then had to secure extensions from Nasdaq to file the financial reports as it conducted a review and hired another public accounting firm.

General Motors saw a 5.6% surge after the car manufacturer announced a scheme to repurchase up to $6 billion of its own shares, and plans to increase its dividend, sending more cash to its shareholders. TJX, the off-price retailer, experienced a 1.4% rise following reports of stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts had predicted.

The company, which owns TJ Maxx and Marshalls, also revealed plans to boost its dividend by 13% and a programme to buy back up to $2.5 billion of its stock. Despite concerns about potential cutbacks in US consumer spending due to persistent inflation and economic uncertainty, TJX CEO Ernie Herrman stated that his company has benefited from its off-price model and sees numerous long-term growth opportunities.

Much of the market's focus remains on Nvidia, the chip company at the forefront of the AI rush, which saw a 2.9% rise ahead of its latest profit report, due after trading concludes for the day. This will be the first earnings report for the company and its CEO, Jensen Huang, since Chinese newcomer DeepSeek disrupted the AI industry by claiming it developed a large language model that can compete with major US rivals without needing the most expensive chips.

This has cast doubt on the anticipated investment in not only Nvidia's chips but also the infrastructure surrounding the AI boom, including electricity for large data centres. In the bond market, Treasury yields remained steady after a recent sharp drop due to concerns about the U.S. economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slightly decreased to 4.29% from 4.30% late Tuesday, having been close to 4.80% just last month.

On Thursday, the U.S. Commerce Department is set to release its third and final estimate of the U.S. economy's performance in the fourth quarter of 2024. Despite concerns, the economy appears to be in good health with growth continuing at present. In international stock markets, indexes across Europe and Asia saw increases. France's CAC 40 rose by 1%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng leapt by 3.3%.

However, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was an exception, slipping by 0.2%. Large Japanese trading companies saw a decline following gains driven by billionaire Warren Buffett's announcement in his annual letter to shareholders that he had increased Berkshire Hathaway's investments in these firms.