By STAN CHOE — AP Business Writer
Publication Date: 2026-02-25 14:53:00
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting higher Wednesday ahead of Wall Street’s main event, which is coming after trading ends for the day when Nvidia reports how much profit it made during the end of 2025.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% in early trading as moves calmed in the market from earlier in the week, when stocks swung sharply as investors tried to separate potential losers from winners in the artificial-intelligence boom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 159 points, or 0.3%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.
Nvidia’s chips are at the center of the AI frenzy, and it’s become the most influential stock in the U.S. market because it’s the most valuable. Analysts are expecting another blowout report, with estimates for Nvidia’s profit to surge nearly 70% from a year earlier to $37.52 billion. That’s would mean it made more than $400 million per day during the three months through Jan. 25.
Nvidia’s profit reports have become a bellwether for the market, not only because of how big the company has become in size but also because of how influential AI has become over the market’s moves. In past years, the AI frenzy helped stocks run to record after record amid hopes that it would mean higher productivity for the economy and…
