Wall Street climbs on AI momentum despite lingering geopolitical tensions

Wall Street rallied on Wednesday, with equities extending gains as geopolitical optimism and a strong AI-led earnings cycle continued to drive sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed over 540 points, or about 1.1%, while the S&P 500 rose more than 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the rally, gaining around 1.4%–1.5%, as investors doubled down on the AI trade.

The trigger: reports suggesting the US and Iran may be nearing a deal to end the ongoing conflict. An Axios report indicated that both sides were close to agreeing on a framework that could include a moratorium on nuclear enrichment. Iran also acknowledged it was evaluating a US proposal.

However, optimism remained fragile. President Donald Trump later flagged uncertainty around the deal, calling it a “big assumption,” and warned of escalation if talks failed. Markets trimmed some gains following his remarks, reflecting the still-volatile geopolitical backdrop.

Parallelly, Trump’s decision to pause “Project Freedom”—a US plan to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz—added to hopes of de-escalation, further easing supply-side concerns in global energy markets.

Oil prices reacted sharply. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell about 5% to hover above $96 per barrel, while Brent crude slipped a similar margin to trade just above $100, briefly dipping that level below earlier in the session as traders unwound risk bets.

Chip stocks surged after Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) delivered a strong earnings beat and issued an upbeat outlook. The stock jumped over 15%, lifting the broader semiconductor pack, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF gaining about 3% and Intel adding close to 2%. Super Micro Computer also rallied sharply following strong guidance.

That optimism is backed by earnings data. Around 85% of S&P 500 companies have beaten profit estimates so far, while roughly 77% have topped revenue expectations—reinforcing the resilience of corporate performance despite global tensions.

The AI boom is also reshaping market leadership globally. Samsung Electronics crossed the $1 trillion market cap milestone, becoming only the second Asian company after TSMC to do so, driven by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory used in AI systems.

On the macro front, labour data remained in focus. ADP data showed the US added 109,000 private-sector jobs in April, offering a snapshot of a cooling but stable employment environment. Investors now await further signals from the upcoming layoffs data.

For now, markets appear to be balancing two opposing forces—geopolitical uncertainty and AI-fuelled earnings momentum. And as long as the latter holds, equities seem willing to look past the noise.