U.S. stocks were gaining early Wednesday as traders digested President Donald Trump’s policy plans. His early announcements eased concerns about tariffs on imports and bolstered the outlook for technology companies.
Looking ahead, the key factors for markets could hinge on Trump news the rest of the week. He’s already signed dozens of executive orders. While his broad vision of trade, deregulation, and tax cuts is clear, a lot will depend on the details of how it’s enacted.
On Tuesday, Trump signaled he will move cautiously on tariffs–one of his first orders said the U.S. will review trade policies, rather than levy new taxes on trade right away. That could change quickly, as the order also lays the groundwork for action later.
Along with software giant Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison, Japanese investment group Softbank’s Masayoshi Son, and Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, the president also announced a $500 billion investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure. Along with solid earnings from streaming service Netflix, that helped the iShares U.S. Technology exchange-traded fund rise.
“Wall Street rose on a relief wave as corporate earnings have snapped higher than expected, calming niggles of concern about the potential impact of tariffs on interest rates,” said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown. “Trump’s mega plan to invest in AI infrastructure” is “lifting tech sector prospects.”
Futures for the Dow added 79 points, or 0.2%. Contracts tied to the S&P 500 rose 0.4% and those tied to the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were up 0.8%. All three indexes rose Tuesday.
There’s another flurry of earnings due today, including results from pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson, financial firm Travelers, and oil services company Halliburton.
The next move for the Federal Reserve on interest rates won’t be far from traders’ minds. Economic data on leading U.S. indicators are also due Wednesday.
Bond yields were down slightly early Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.566%, down from as high as 4.7% last week. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note was 4.278%.