Stocks Advance Again: S&P 500 Posts Back-to-Back Gains, Dow Up 300

U.S. stocks moved higher on Wednesday, led by gains in Nvidia and Oracle, extending the momentum from the previous session.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.81% to close at 6,946.13, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.26% to 23,152.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 307.65 points, or 0.63%, finishing at 49,482.15.

Nvidia gained 1.4% ahead of its earnings release scheduled after the close, alongside reports from software firms Salesforce and Snowflake. The chipmaker’s results come as investors reassess elevated tech valuations and grow more cautious about heavy AI spending by hyperscalers.

Oracle, another AI-related name, rose 1% to lead the rebound in software stocks after receiving an upgrade from Oppenheimer, which cited an attractive risk-reward outlook following the recent pullback.

The software sector continued its rally from the prior session, when the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) jumped nearly 2%. The fund added another 3% on Wednesday as shares of Palantir Technologies and Microsoft moved higher.

Tuesday’s market gains came as concerns about AI-driven disruption across industries eased. Software and cybersecurity stocks also benefited after Anthropic introduced new connectors and plugins for its knowledge-worker tool, Claude Cowork, enabling companies to integrate the AI system with existing applications such as Google Drive.

Separately, investors remain focused on rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump threatened to raise global tariffs to 15%, though a 10% levy on global imports was implemented Tuesday.

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, the president highlighted the strength of the economy.