Continued Faith In AI Trade May Lead To Early Rebound On Wall Street

Market Overview - Major U.S. index futures indicate a modestly higher open, with stocks expected to rebound after previous session pressure [1] - Continued optimism in the artificial intelligence sector is driving stocks to record highs [1] Company-Specific Developments - Nvidia (NVDA) shares rebounded by 0.4% in pre-market trading after a 2.8% decline on Tuesday, generating early buying interest [2] - Alibaba (BABA) shares surged by 8.8% in pre-market trading following CEO Eddie Wu's announcement of increased spending on AI models and infrastructure [2][3] - Micron (MU) reported better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and forecasted first-quarter revenue above market estimates, yet experienced modest pre-market weakness [3] Trading Activity - On Tuesday, major averages declined, with the Nasdaq dropping 215.50 points (1.0%) to 22,573.47, the S&P 500 falling 36.83 points (0.6%) to 6,656.92, and the Dow dipping 88.76 points (0.2%) to 46,292.78 [4] - Retail stocks and software stocks showed significant weakness, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index and Dow Jones U.S. Software Index both down by 1.2% [7] Economic Indicators - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell expressed concerns about overvalued equity prices, indicating a challenging situation for monetary policy [5][6] - Upcoming consumer price inflation data is anticipated to influence trading activity [3] Commodity and Currency Markets - Crude oil futures increased by $0.93 to $64.34 per barrel, while gold prices decreased by $16.50 to $3,799.20 per ounce [10] - The U.S. dollar strengthened against the yen and euro, trading at 148.55 yen and $1.1745 against the euro [11] Asian Market Performance - Asian stocks ended mixed, with China's Shanghai Composite Index rising by 0.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index up by 1.4% due to tech stock gains [12] - Japanese markets saw the Nikkei 225 Index rise by 0.3% to a record high, despite data showing manufacturing activity shrank [13][14] European Market Performance - European stocks showed mixed results, with the German DAX Index up by 0.1% while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and French CAC 40 Index declined [17] - Notable movements included German wind turbine maker Nordex securing a 50MW order and Atos jumping after winning a major cybersecurity contract [18]