Investor sentiment remained subdued on Wednesday as escalating geopolitical tensions weighed on risk assets ahead of the week’s most anticipated event: Nvidia Corp.’s NVDA third-quarter earnings report, set to be released after market close.

The market mood deteriorated further after multiple outlets confirmed Ukraine’s deployment of U.K.-made Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory, a day after launching U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely regarded as a barometer of market anxiety, spiked over 9%, underscoring rising apprehension among investors.

Major U.S. indices were in the red, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 leading losses as technology stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off.

The U.S. dollar resumed its upward trajectory, with the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, a proxy for the greenback’s strength, climbing 0.7%. Safe-haven demand also bolstered gold, which advanced 0.7%, reflecting investors’ flight to safety.

Meanwhile, natural gas emerged as the standout performer among commodities, surging over 6% on the day.

Bitcoin BTC/USD defied the risk-off sentiment, climbing over 2% to hit a fresh intraday all-time high of $94,989. This propelled its year-to-date gains to an astonishing 123%.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day % chg
Dow Jones	43,198.51	-0.2%
S&P 500	5,886.96	-0.5%
Russell 2000	2,311.30	-0.6%
Nasdaq 100	20,544.18	-0.7%
CBOE VIX	17.94	9.7%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY fell 0.5% to $587.21.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA fell 0.2% to $432.04.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ fell 0.6% to $500.28.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM fell 0.5% to $229.57.
• The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV outperformed, falling 1%. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP lagged, down 1%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Target Corp. TGT fell 22% in reaction to a negative earnings report.
• Other stocks reacting to earnings included Keysight Technologies Inc. KEYS, up 5.7%; XP Inc. XP, down 6%; Dolby Laboratories DLB, up 14%; TJX Companies Inc. TJX, down 0.3% and Williams-Sonoma Inc. WSM, up 30%.
• Apart Nvidia, other large-cap tech companies releasing earnings results after the call are Palo Alto Networks Inc. PANW and Snowflake Inc. SNOW.

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