Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, extending its tech-led rally and touching two-week highs as worries over artificial intelligence disruption and costs ⁠took a back seat to renewed optimism over the nascent technology's potential benefits.

All three major US stock indexes advanced, with the Nasdaq, powered by chips, enjoying the largest percentage gain as markets near the end of a tumultuous month that was marked by concerns over massive investment in AI infrastructure and the extent to which it could disrupt myriad industries.

Nvidia, at the forefront of the AI revolution, reported fourth-quarter revenue of US$68.13 billion, beating analyst estimates. Its shares were up about 3 percent in extended trading.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index gained 1.6 percent ahead of Nvidia's earnings.

The S&P Software & Services index, bouncing back from its 23 percent year-to-date slump, was a clear outperformer, jumping 2.9 percent.

"We're in the middle of a ⁠push-pull here between some negative sentiment and some extreme price action in parts of the market," said ⁠Zach Hill, head of portfolio management ⁠at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"I think the (AI) disruption concerns are more acute right now than worries over return on investment," Hill added. "Investors are trying to grapple with what could potentially be existential risk, and that's ⁠a bigger deal than not receiving as much payout as you would like."

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin chimed in on the issue, saying it is not clear that the AI rollout will displace workers, adding the technology could enable workers and help the job market become more efficient.

The Nasdaq rose 1.3 percent, to 23,152, the S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent, to 6,946, while the Dow rose 0.6 percent, to 49,482. (Reuters)



Edited by Cecil Wong