Nasdaq Netflix results, Wall St further boosted by Trump’s AI investment plans

The Nasdaq led Wall Street’s main indexes higher on Wednesday, as investors cheered streaming giant Netflix’s strong quarterly performance and President Donald Trump’s multi-billion dollar support to bolster AI infrastructure.

The benchmark S&P 500 fell just shy of surpassing its all-time intraday high hit in early December.

Netflix jumped 13.1% after reporting a record number of subscribers for the holiday quarter, enabling it to raise prices on most service plans.

Among other streaming companies, Roku rose 1.5%.

The S&P 500 communications services sector rose 1.5%, boosted by Netflix.

“There’s a leader (Netflix) that’s setting itself apart from other competitors, with key growth drivers not just in terms of content delivery but charging more for advertising,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA. Research.

At 9:40 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 76.59 points, or 0.17%, at 44,102.40, the S&P 500 was up 29.01 points, or 0.48%, at 6,078.25 and the Nasdaq was up 719 points, or 0.19%. 0.97%, to 19,948.15.

Among the top movers, Oracle rose 5.1% after Trump said the company would invest $500 billion in AI infrastructure with OpenAI and SoftBank, though there were no specifics on the funding.

Server makers Dell and Super Micro added 5.8% and 1.6% respectively, while AI winners Microsoft added 2.2% and Nvidia gained 4%.

Three of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with technology stocks up 1.7% and the index tracking chip stocks up 2%.

“It will give investors additional reason to be encouraged by the direction of equity prices that confirms that the president is pro-business in general and pro-technology in particular, and wants to do whatever he can to advance US-based business.” Stovall said

Data pointing to a stronger economy amid cooling inflation and Trump’s moderate approach to tariffs have helped lift risks over the past week, with the benchmark S&P 500 and Dow at one-month highs. Stocks have also benefited from easing Treasury yields.

However, Trump has warned that tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union could be issued on February 1, a reminder to markets that risks of a potential trade war and fresh inflationary pressures prevail.

Traders expect the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged when it meets next week and expect it to deliver its first rate cut in July this year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Procter & Gamble advanced 3.2%, beating second-quarter estimates on rising demand for its household products in the United States.

Johnson & Johnson gave up early gains and fell 3.5%. The drugmaker reported fourth-quarter results above estimates.

Ford lost 3.3% after Barclays downgraded the stock.

Textron fell 4% as it forecast 2025 profit below estimates.

Halliburton fell 3.2% after warning of softer activity in North America this year and a drop in quarterly revenue.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.5-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite hit 66 new highs and 31 new lows.