NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Most U.S. stocks rose Wednesday following another topsy-turvy day on Wall Street. <\/p>\n
The S&P 500 added 0.4%, but only after jumping toward one of its biggest gains since the summer, erasing it all and then climbing back.<\/p>\n
The Nasdaq composite climbed 0.7% after earlier pinballing between a drop of 0.4% and a rally of 1.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged the market and edged down by 17 points, or less than 0.1%.<\/p>\n
The erratic trading followed Tuesday\u2019s roller coaster<\/a>, where the Dow careened between a loss of 615 points and a jump of 455. The dizzying moves go back to the end of last week, when President Donald Trump shattered what had been a remarkably calm and strong run for Wall Street by threatening much higher tariffs on China. <\/p>\n Technology stocks helped lead the way Wednesday following a better-than-expected profit report from ASML, a major supplier to the semiconductor industry. It expects its revenue for 2025 to be 15% above last year\u2019s, while next year\u2019s should be at least as high as this year\u2019s. <\/p>\n \u201cOn the market side, we have seen continued positive momentum around investments in AI,\u201d CEO Christophe Fouquet said, \u201cand have also seen this extending to more customers.\u201d That\u2019s key when worries have been high that a bubble may be forming in artificial-intelligence technology, with too much investment flowing in akin to the 2000 dot-com frenzy.<\/p>\n ASML\u2019s stock climbed 3.1% in Amsterdam. On Wall Street, Broadcom rose 2.1% and Advanced Micro Devices jumped 9.4%. They were two of the strongest forces lifting the S&P 500.<\/p>\n Several big banks also drove the market higher. Bank of America climbed 4.4% after delivering a profit for the latest quarter that was stronger than analysts expected. CEO Brian Moynihan said every line of the bank\u2019s business reported growth. <\/p>\n Morgan Stanley rose 4.8% after likewise reporting a stronger profit than analysts expected. That followed better-than-expected profit reports from several banks the day before, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. <\/p>\n They helped offset a 3.9% drop for PNC Financial. It reported a stronger-than-expected profit for the latest quarter, but it also gave a forecast for upcoming earnings that some analysts said was below expectations. <\/p>\n Abbott Laboratories sank 2.4% after its revenue for the latest quarter finished just shy of analysts\u2019 expectations. <\/p>\n All told, the S&P 500 rose 26.75 points to 6,671.06. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 17.15 to 46,253.31, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 148.38 to 22,670.08.<\/p>\n Companies are under pressure to deliver strong profits after their stock prices broadly surged 35% from a low in April. To justify those gains, which critics say made their stock prices too expensive<\/a>, companies will need to show they\u2019re making much more in profit and will continue to do so. <\/p>\n Corporate profit reports are also under more scrutiny than usual as investors hunt for clues about the health of the U.S. economy. That\u2019s because the U.S. government\u2019s latest shutdown <\/a> is delaying important updates on the economy, such as the report on inflation <\/a> that was supposed to arrive Wednesday.<\/p>\n The lack of such reports is making the job more difficult for the Federal Reserve, which is trying to figure out whether high inflation<\/a> or a slowing job market <\/a> is the bigger problem for the economy. <\/p>\n The Fed cut its main interest rate last month for the first time this year<\/a>, and officials indicated more may be on the way to give the job market a boost. But too low interest rates can push upward on inflation, which has remained stubbornly stuck above the Fed\u2019s 2% target. <\/p>\n