New York (AFP) – Wall Street stocks were mixed at the end of a choppy session Wednesday as US President Donald Trump signaled plans for tariffs on the European Union. While the Dow retreated, the tech-focused Nasdaq pushed higher in anticipation of earnings from artificial intelligence giant Nvidia.
After the trading day, Nvidia reported net income of $22 billion on an unprecedented $39.3 billion in revenue in a blockbuster fourth quarter, as CEO Jensen Huang touted interest in the company’s Blackwell chip technology. “Demand for Blackwell is amazing,” said Huang, who touted the new technology’s groundbreaking features. “AI is advancing at light speed as agentic AI and physical AI set the stage for the next wave of AI to revolutionize the largest industries.”
The company’s results had been keenly awaited as a proxy for the broader artificial intelligence industry. Nvidia’s guidance “could be pivotal, not just for the company, but in setting overall market direction, at least in the short term,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison. “This will be the first earnings update from the company since Chinese upstart DeepSeek managed to upset the US’s generative AI industry by producing an assistant of equivalent quality but at a fraction of the cost,” he said.
DeepSeek’s unveiling of its chatbot threw US tech titans into a tailspin as the Chinese technology undermined their massive AI investments and their high stock valuations. Nvidia’s shares have taken a beating in recent sessions, and overall US tech shares, which helped drive the market to record highs at the end of last year, have stumbled in 2025.
Hong Kong closed up more than three percent, with investors snapping up tech stocks following a poor start to the week sparked by fresh concerns over US President Donald Trump’s tariff plans. In Europe, Paris and Frankfurt rose more than one percent prior to Trump’s talk of tariffs on the EU. US stocks have been under pressure in recent days due to lackluster US economic data and worries about Trump’s policies.
During a cabinet meeting, the US president said he expects 25 percent tariffs on the European Union. Trump said that cars would be among the products to be hit — grim news for Germany, whose export-driven economy has been in a slump. The European Commission warned it would respond “firmly and immediately” to new tariffs.
Among individual companies, General Motors jumped 3.8 percent after unveiling a new $6 billion share repurchase authorization and lifting its quarterly dividend by three cents a share. US shares of BP fell 1.7 percent as it announced a major retreat from renewable energy in a pivot back to petroleum investments.
– Key figures around 2130 GMT –
New York – Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 43,433.12 (close)
New York – S&P 500: FLAT at 5,956.06 (close)
New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 19,075.26 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 8,731.46 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: UP 1.2 at 8,143.92 (close)
Frankfurt – DAX: UP 1.7 percent at 22,794.11 (close)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,142.37 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 3.3 percent at 23,787.93 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,380.21 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0480 from $1.0514 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2672 from $1.2666
Dollar/yen: UP at 149.13 from 149.03 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.70 pence from 83.00 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $72.53 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $68.62 per barrel
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© 2024 AFP
