Tech shares led US stocks higher on Wednesday following strong earnings from Netflix and a White House announcement that reignited enthusiasm about artificial intelligence.
Netflix piled on nearly 10 percent after announcing price increases in several markets, including the United States, and revealing that its subscribers have topped 300 million.
Shares of AI-linked companies such as Arm, Microsoft and Nvidia also advanced following a White House announcement of some US$500 billion in new AI infrastructure by Softbank and other tech giants.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.3 percent to 20,009.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.3 percent to 44,156, while the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to 6,086, just under an all-time record.
"Today was back to excitement over AI," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
Wednesday's session also included a trove of other corporate earnings reports, most of which topped estimates.
Procter & Gamble climbed 1.9 percent as it reported higher profits and confirmed full-year targets for increased sales. The consumer products giant has seen improvement in China but emphasized that a complete turnaround will take time.
Seagate Technology, a data storage company also active in AI, jumped 6.8 percent after reporting a 50 percent jump in quarterly revenues to US$2.3 billion. (AFP)