Nvidia Earnings to Test U.S. Stock Market Rally

Earnings from semiconductor bellwether Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) on Wednesday are set to provide the latest test for a U.S. stock market rally that has taken indexes to record highs this year.

A 90% run in Nvidia's shares this year has made it the third-biggest U.S. company by market value, trailing only Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Its influence on broader markets has also grown. Because Nvidia's chips are the gold standard in artificial intelligence, its results are widely seen as a barometer for the burgeoning AI industry, whose evolution has stoked investor enthusiasm and helped drive the bull run in U.S. stocks.

At the same time, Nvidia's growing weighting in indexes and exchange-traded funds has given its share price moves an outsized influence over broader markets. The stock now has a weighting of over 5% in the S&P 500, while accounting for 6.5% of the Nasdaq 100 and 20% of the VanEck Semiconductor ETF.

"If they do well ... there are going to be a lot of stocks that ride its coattails," said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. "It's very rare you have one stock that can have such a dramatic impact on the overall market. But Nvidia has earned that."

Nvidia's results come as the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average have all notched record highs this month after a turbulent April, boosted by a strong earnings season and renewed hopes that the U.S. economy is headed for a so-called soft landing.

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