Wall Street faces a wave of risk-off sentiment on Wednesday, as traders adopt a cautious stance ahead of NVIDIA Corp. NVDA earnings, which are set to be released after the market close.

At midday trading in New York, all major equity indices were in the red, weighed down by broad declines in chipmakers and tech stocks.

The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX fell 2%, underperforming the broader tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, down 1.1%.

The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX, a key barometer of the fear in the market, rose 8%.

As the last of the Magnificent Seven megacaps to report earnings, Nvidia’s results are viewed as a crucial indicator of whether the recent market rebound has more room to run, potentially pushing toward new all-time highs, or if it’s time for investors to dial back risk.

Key metrics to watch include whether Nvidia surpasses the projected $28.7 billion in quarterly revenue — a staggering 156% increase from the same quarter last year — and $0.645 earnings per share, more than triple from the same period in 2022.

Nvidia’s forward guidance will also be critical, as investors seek insight into the demand for its leading AI-related chips and any challenges posed by China.

In a significant achievement during Wednesday’s session, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK reached the milestone of a $1 trillion market valuation.

The U.S. dollar is showing a modest recovery, up 0.4% after closing Tuesday at its lowest level since July 2023. Treasury yields remain stable, while gold is struggling, down 0.6%, with silver experiencing a sharper 2% decline.

Oil prices continue to fall, with WTI crude down 1.3%, as traders unload the risk premium amid easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and less concerning Libyan production disruptions than initially feared.

Bitcoin BTC/USD remains under pressure, down 1% to $58,850, following a more than 7% decline over the past two sessions.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	Chg %
Dow Jones	41,053.09	-0.5%
S&P 500	5,592.49	-0.6%
Russell 2000	2,191.39	-0.6%
Nasdaq 100	19,362.15	-1.1%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.7% down to $557.94.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA eased down 0.4% to $411.11.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ declined 1.2% to $470.98.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM fell 0.7% to $217.34.
• The Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF outperformed, up by 0.2%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK lagged, down by 1.5%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Super Micro Computer Inc. SMCI plunged 26% after announcing it won’t meet the deadline to file its annual Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30. This comes just a day after short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report accusing the company of accounting manipulation.
• Other crypto-related stocks weakened, with CleanSpark Inc. CLSK, Coinbase Inc. COIN, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. MARA down 5.3%, 4.7% and 4.6% respectively.
• Chewy Inc. CHWY rallied 14% in reaction to its upbeat quarterly earnings.
• Other stocks reacting to company earnings were Abercrombie & Fitch Co ANF down 17%, Ambarella Inc. AMBA up 9%, Bath & Body Works, Inc. BBWI down 6%, Box Inc. BOX up 7.5%, Donaldson Company DCI down 4.3%, Foot Locker Inc. FL down 12%, Nordstrom Inc. JWN up 4%, PVH Corp. PVH up 6.6%, SentinelOne Inc. S down 2% and J.M. Smucker Company SJM down 5.8%.
• Companies reporting after the close included Nvidia Corp., Salesforce Inc. CRM, CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. CRWD, HP Inc. HPQ, Veeva Systems Inc. VEEV, NetApp Inc. NTAP, Pure Storage Inc. PSTG, Cooper Companies Inc COO, Okta Inc. OKTA, Nutanix Inc. NTNX, Affirm Holdings Inc. AFRM, Five Below Inc. FIVE and Victoria Secret & Co. VSCO.

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