Wall Street staged a powerful relief rally on Wednesday, with all three major indices gaining over 1%. The S&P 500 rose 1.08% to 7,433, the Dow Jones surged 645 points (1.31%) to close above 50,000, and the Nasdaq led the charge with a 1.54% gain to 26,270.
Why It Matters
The rally snapped a three-day losing streak and was driven by two big macro catalysts: a sharp drop in oil prices and easing bond yields. Both followed President Trump's comments that negotiations with Iran are in their "final stages" and likely to conclude quickly.
Brent crude crashed about 5.6% to ~$105/barrel, while U.S. WTI fell below $100. The 10-year Treasury yield eased from 4.67% to 4.57%, reversing a weeks-long climb driven by energy-led inflation fears.
"Peace brings cheaper oil, and cheaper oil brings lower inflation," one Wall Street strategist summed up the market's logic.
Nvidia Earnings — AI Giant Delivers Again
Nvidia reported its fiscal Q1 2027 results after Wednesday's close, and the numbers were impressive by any measure. Revenue surged 85% YoY to $81.6 billion, beating the $79.2 billion consensus. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.87, above the $1.78 estimate.
The data center segment — the core of Nvidia's growth story — generated $75.2 billion in revenue, up 92% YoY. Q2 guidance of ~$91 billion also topped Street expectations of $87 billion. The company announced an $80 billion share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share.
Despite the beat-and-raise, NVDA stock slipped about 1% in after-hours trading — a familiar pattern where even stellar results trigger profit-taking in a $5+ trillion market cap stock. "Expectations are very high," noted Seaport Research's Jay Goldberg, "and it takes a lot to excite investors after Nvidia's long run of outperformance."
Pre-Market: Steady Futures, Nvidia Recovering
Index futures are pointing to a quiet, mixed open on Thursday. The Dow and Nasdaq are hovering near the flatline with a slight negative bias. The 10-year yield is steady around 4.58%.
Oil is ticking slightly higher this morning, up about 0.8% to $105.86/barrel, as some caution creeps back in despite the Iran optimism. The deal isn't signed yet — but the market is starting to price it in.
Nvidia shares are trading around $222 in pre-market, a modest recovery from the after-hours dip. In the semiconductor space, Micron is up about 6% pre-market and Intel is gaining nearly 5%, riding the broader relief wave in the sector and the positive vibes from Nvidia's report.
The Bottom Line
Wall Street is opening the day with a palpable sense of geopolitical de-escalation — partial though it may be — that eases inflation pressure, calms the bond market, and lets investors focus on earnings again. Nvidia proved once more overnight that it remains the most powerful engine in Silicon Valley, though the premium the market demands for perfection keeps getting steeper. What comes next depends on the same two factors: progress on the Iran front, and how the market digests Nvidia's numbers in regular trading.
