Nasdaq, S&P 500 eke out Gains as Dow, Bitcoin Drop with all Eyes on Nvidia Earnings
After President Trump discussed his tariff intentions at a cabinet meeting Wednesday afternoon, and investors awaited Nvidia’s (NVDA) after-the-bell results, which beat on both the top and bottom lines, stocks ended another tumultuous trading session with uneven closing prices.
To end the day up around 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) pared gains. Following steep declines, the tech-heavy index had climbed as much as 1% earlier. The (^DJI) dropped about 0.4%, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) finished just over the flatline.
Wednesday saw a further decline in Bitcoin (BTC-USD), which has been slipping from its post-election highs and trading at its lowest levels since November. It lost more than 4% to fall below $85,000.
Nvidia announced Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of $0.89 on revenue of $39.3 billion shortly after the market closed. Analysts had projected $38.25 billion in sales and $0.84 in EPS. After-hours trading saw a 4% increase in shares.
The quarter’s data center revenue is $35.6 billion above the $34.09 billion forecast. In addition, the business provided a better-than-expected forecast for the upcoming quarter, predicting $43 billion in revenue, give or take 2%. Shares of the $3.2 trillion chipmaker were down more than 2% since the year began when the news was released on Wednesday.
President Trump announced earlier that taxes on Mexico and Canada would take effect on April 2, and 25% of imports would be subject to tariffs against the EU. Given the AI bellwether’s track record of positive responses to earnings, investors anticipate that Nvidia’s quarterly results, which are coming after the bell, would generally boost equities.
However, this year, Nvidia’s stock has underperformed the S&P 500, and the chipmaker’s prospects are hampered by Trump’s export restrictions and tariff threats. After falling 2.8% on Tuesday, its shares ended the day over 4% higher.
