By Anietie anii-bassey
U.S. stock markets were mixed in late-morning trading Wednesday as renewed pressure on major technology shares offset gains elsewhere, while gold prices stabilized after a volatile stretch and climbed back above the $5,000-per-ounce mark.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, extending a recent run of modest declines that has seen the index fall four times in the past five sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 281 points, or 0.6%, helped by gains in health care and consumer stocks, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.6%, weighed down by losses among chipmakers and other technology companies.
Technology shares were again at the center of market attention, even as several firms reported earnings that exceeded expectations. Advanced Micro Devices tumbled 13.6% despite posting stronger quarterly profits than analysts had forecast and offering revenue guidance for early 2026 that topped projections.
The steep drop appeared to reflect investor caution after the stock had more than doubled over the past year, leaving little margin for disappointment in a sector whose valuations have soared following years of market leadership.
More broadly, investors are reassessing some of the biggest names in tech, with critics arguing that prices climbed too far during the sector’s prolonged dominance. Software and hardware companies are also grappling with questions about how quickly artificial-intelligence-driven competitors could reshape their businesses, injecting another layer of uncertainty into trading.
Uber Technologies added to the drag on major indexes after sliding 5.4%. The ride-hailing company reported quarterly results that missed Wall Street forecasts and issued a profit outlook for the current quarter that also came in below expectations, even as it announced the appointment of a new chief financial officer.
Not all technology stocks moved lower. Super Micro Computer surged 12.6% after reporting earnings that exceeded projections. The company, which supplies servers and other equipment used in artificial-intelligence systems, benefited from continued strong demand tied to the expansion of data centers and AI infrastructure.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, Eli Lilly jumped 7.7% after topping analysts’ profit expectations, buoyed by continued rapid sales growth for its blockbuster diabetes and weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound.
Match Group gained 2.5% after posting better-than-expected results and raising its dividend, citing early progress from efforts to improve user safety and engagement. The company pointed to a new facial-verification feature for its Tinder app that has sharply reduced problematic interactions in markets where it has been introduced.
Walmart edged up 0.3%, a day after the retail giant’s market capitalization surpassed $1 trillion for the first time, placing it in a small group of U.S. companies dominated by technology heavyweights such as Nvidia and Apple, each valued at more than $4 trillion.
In commodities markets, gold and silver bounced back after sharp sell-offs over the past week. Gold rose 1.7% to $5,019 an ounce, continuing a period of dramatic swings after roughly doubling in price over the past year. The metal had approached $5,600 last week before sliding below $4,500 on Monday. Silver, which has experienced even steeper moves, surged 7.7%.
Precious metals had surged earlier as investors sought perceived havens amid worries over tariffs, a weakening U.S. dollar and mounting government debt around the world. Some market participants, however, argued that prices had risen too quickly and were ripe for a pullback, contributing to the recent turbulence.
Bond markets were relatively calm following a pair of mixed economic reports from the United States. Data from ADP Research indicated that private-sector hiring slowed last month more than economists had anticipated, while a separate survey from the Institute for Supply Management showed that growth among services businesses such as health care and construction continued in January at roughly the expected pace.
That same report also pointed to faster increases in prices paid by services firms, a development that could raise fresh concerns about inflation. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note eased slightly to 4.27% from 4.28% late Tuesday.
Overseas markets delivered a similarly mixed picture. Major European indexes traded unevenly, while Asian markets diverged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.8% from a recent record high, led lower by a sharp drop in Nintendo shares, which fell 11% despite strong earnings as investors questioned whether sales momentum for the company’s Switch 2 console can be sustained after last year’s rollout.
South Korea’s Kospi, by contrast, climbed 1.6% to another all-time high, reflecting continued optimism about the country’s export-oriented companies and technology sector.
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