Market News

U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday after President Trump announced a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure. Market participants also reacted positively to strong fourth-quarter results. The Nasdaq Composite, the Dow Jones, and the S&P 500 ended the day in the green zone.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.3% or 130.92 points to close at 44,156.73. Within the 30-stock index, 13 components ended in positive territory, while 17 ended in the negative zone.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 252.56 points or 1.3% to 20,009.34.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, or 37.13 points, to end at 6,086.37. Two of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in positive territory. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) gained 2.3%, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) fell 2.2%.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 0.3% to 15.10. A total of 13.89 billion shares were traded on Wednesday, lower than the last 20-session average of 15.33 billion. The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and four new lows. The Nasdaq Composite recorded 104 new highs and 95 new lows.

Trump Announced $500 Billion Investment in AI Infrastructure

On Jan. 21, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a private sector investment of $500 billion to develop the nation’s AI infrastructure. An initiative led by OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp. SFTBY, and Oracle Corporation ORCL includes the construction of data centers and the creation of over 100,000 jobs.  The companies have agreed to $100 billion upfront and more funding to follow over four years. The data centers, already under construction in Texas, aim to power AI innovations like healthcare applications. Therefore, news of the partnership prompted shares of Oracle and SoftBank to rise 6.8% and 11.4%, respectively on Jan. 22, 2025.

Solid Q4 Earnings Results

The Travelers Companies, Inc. TRV reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $9.15 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.5. Revenues of $12.06 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.01%.

Netflix, Inc. NFLX reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $4.27 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.20. Revenues of $10.25 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.29%.

Capital One Financial Corporation COF reported fourth-quarter 2024 adjusted earnings of $3.09 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.66. Revenues of $10.19 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.32%.

Consequently, shares of The Travelers Companies, Netflix and Capital One Financial Corporation rose 3.2%, 9.7% and 4%, respectively. Each of the three companies carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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