Stock market today: S&P 500 vaults to record high with Nvidia earnings set to provide key test

Going into Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings after the bell, Wall Street will be closely watching the chipmaker’s performance in one of its key markets: China.

Nvidia was hit with a surprise export ban on sales of its H20 chips to China in April — a move that was set to cost the chipmaker $8 billion in lost sales in its second quarter. In yet another unexpected move, the Trump administration said in July it would grant Nvidia export licenses for its H20 chips in exchange for 15% of the revenue from those sales — an agreement likely to face legal challenges due to the US Constitution’s ban on export taxes.

The reversal of the ban could help Nvidia recoup as much as $15 billion in revenue from China in the second half of the year to hit around $20 billion from the region for its 2026 fiscal year, which ends next January. That would be an uptick from its roughly $17 billion in sales from China in 2025.

But analysts have moderated their optimism over any uplift from Nvidia’s sales to China headed into Wednesday’s report, with Stifel analyst Ruben Roy noting their could be “near-term speed bumps” related to Nvidia’s position in that market.

That’s because Nvidia has reportedly asked its suppliers to halt production of components for its H20 chips. The news came after conflicting reports over whether China is ordering companies to stop buying Nvidia’s H20 chips. The Information reported earlier this month that China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, issued a directive to tech companies to suspend their purchases of Nvidia’s chips. But the same day, a Reuters report said authorities were questioning Chinese companies over their orders of H20 chips, not ordering them to stop those purchases.

More will be revealed in short order.

Nvidia (NVDA) stock was steady with less than one hour of trading before the close as investors awaited the AI chip giant’s highly anticipated earnings.

Nvidia has been the poster child of the artificial intelligence trade. The stock has rallied roughly 35% year-to-date to lead this year’s market rally.

Yahoo Finance plans to interview Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at 6:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, following the company’s earnings call.

Cryptocurrencies were rallying on Wednesday, with ethereum (ETH-USD) continuing to lead the charge, rising more than 2.5%, among the major cryptocurrencies, while bitcoin (BTC-USD) and Ripple’s XRP (XRP-USD) also rose.

Ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, has staged a stunning comeback this year, surging more than 200% from April lows compared to a 45% rise in bitcoin during the same period.

Ether briefly hit a new all-time high Sunday, topping $4,900, as a dovish speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell late last week lifted broader markets, with crypto continuing this rally into the weekend.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, is still down about 10% from its mid-August all-time high north of $124,000.

Read more here.

Yahoo Finance’s Francisco Velasquez reports:

Read more here.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) climbed 6% on Wednesday after the bank reported strong results across all three of its business segments.

RBC’s diluted earnings per share of $3.75 and revenue of $16.99 billion topped Wall Street estimates.

The Canadian Press reports:

Read more here.

Thinking about visiting a Cracker Barrel (CBRL) now that you’ve heard so much about it? You might not be alone, Yahoo Finance’s Brooke DiPalma writes.

The stock was up more than 8% in afternoon trading on Wednesday.

Brooke reports on Wall Street’s reaction to the logo reversal:

Read more here.

IonQ (IONQ) shares jumped nearly 3% after B Riley Securities analyst Craig Ellis initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating.

Ellis said he believes “quantum computing will increasingly solve problems once considered classically intractable in the next five to 10 year” and that “IONQ could be a leader, likely accruing significant value as its capabilities mature.”

He noted that IonQ has sold quantum computers since 2021, has brought online 10 quantum computing systems, and was the first quantum computing system available on all three major cloud providers — Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT).

IonQ stock has surged 474% over the past 12 months but has had a volatile 2025, up just 0.4% year to date, as skepticism over quantum technologies and mounting losses in its most recent quarter put pressure on shares.

UnitedHealth Group shares rose 1% Wednesday, holding steady despite a Bloomberg report that the US Department of Justice’s criminal probe into the insurer is wider than previously thought.

Bloomberg reported that the DOJ’s criminal division is investigating UnitedHealth’s prescription management segment, Optum Rx, in addition to potential Medicare fraud. News of the initial investigation was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in May.

Shares of UNH are still down 40% for the year amid regulatory scrutiny, a shake-up among top executives, and broader industry pressures.

American Eagle (AEO) shares jumped as much as 5% after announcing a collaboration with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, a day after the football player announced his engagement to Taylor Swift.

The limited edition collaboration featuring lifestyle and sportswear is called “AE x Tru Kolors by Travis Kelce.” Kelce also stars in the ad campaign for the new line.

Even with Wednesday’s gain, American Eagle stock is down 23% in 2025 as the apparel maker has reported declines in revenue and earnings per share in its last three quarterly earnings reports.

Meanwhile, shares of rival Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) traded flat on Wednesday after the company reported earnings that topped expectations but showed a decline in net sales in its Abercrombie brand.

US stocks traded mixed at the open of Wednesday’s trading session as investors awaited Nvidia’s (NVDA) highly anticipated earnings report after the bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) inched up nearly 0.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell below the flat line and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) dipped 0.15%.

The mixed open comes on the heels of small gains for stocks on Wall Street on Tuesday.

Bond yields continued to push higher on Wednesday following President Trump’s move to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook, which was marked by a relatively tame market reaction.

While short-term yields slipped lower, concerns about eroding Fed independence and tariffs pushed long-run yields higher as fears grew that the pressure on the Fed could lead to inflation running hotter over time.

The 10-year yield (^TNX) moved up 3 basis points to 4.28%, while the 30-year yield (^TYX) rose 4 basis points to hold above 4.95%.

The Treasury yield curve also steepened to the highest level since April. The spread between the 2-year and 10-year yield now stands at 62 basis points.

Nvidia (NVDA) stock gained 0.5% in premarket trading ahead of its earnings release after the closing bell on Wednesday. The AI chipmaker will round out Big Tech earnings after a quarter of back-and-forth with the Trump administration.

Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley notes that investors will be on the lookout for continued shipment scaling of Nvidia’s GB200 super chip, the ramp of its upcoming Blackwell Ultra chip, AI spending, and commentary on China sales during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday.

Options traders expect Nvidia’s market value to swing about $260 billion after its second quarter earnings, suggesting investors feel more certain about the company’s performance.

Read Dan’s full preview of Nvidia earnings here.

Goldman Sachs expects the price of Brent (BZ=F) crude futures contracts to fall to the low $50s a barrel by late 2026, its analysts said in a note to clients.

An increase in the oil surplus next year will drive the decline from current levels, Goldman said, amid reduced demand in leading economies.

Oil prices steadied after Tuesday’s steep drop as traders assessed the start of 50% US tariffs on Indian goods, a reprisal for its imports of Russian crude.

Indian government estimates suggest global crude prices could more than triple to around $200 a barrel if the country stops buying oil from Russia, Reuters reported.

Kohl’s (KSS) raised its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday, in a sign that the department store chain’s turnaround push is paying off.

Shares surged over 15% in premarket trading as investors welcomed the retailer’s earnings report, which eased worries over Kohl’s warning on Tuesday that it was seeking more time to pay vendors.

Kohl’s has downsized its jewelry business among other moves to rein in costs, while it has also stepped up efforts to draw in shoppers during the key holiday season.

Reuters reports:

Economic data: MBA Mortgage Applications (week ending Aug. 22)

Earnings: Nvidia (NVDA), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Five Below (FIVE), HP (HP), Kohl’s (KSS), Pure Storage (PSTG), Snowflake (SNOW), The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM), Urban Outfitters (URBN), Williams-Sonoma (WSM)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

Why stocks shrugged off Trump’s boldest Fed move yet

Nvidia earnings on deck: High hopes, China risks

EU eyes fast-tracking the removal of all its US tariffs

Canada Goose stock pops on report of go-private bids

Goldman: Oil to fall to low $50s by late next year

Cracker Barrel stock jumps as company reverts to old logo

China seeks to triple output of AI chips in race with the US

Kohl’s stock soars after raising annual profit target

Shares of Cracker Barrel (CBRL) are popping after the restaurant operator said it will revert to its old logo, after a redesign drew public backlash and a call for a rethink from President Trump.

Shares of the restaurant operator rose over 5% in premarket trading on Wednesday, having closed over 6% higher the prior session.

Cracker Barrel stock fell more than 14% last week after the company announced the fifth evolution of its logo to a more minimalist look, removing the image of Uncle Herschel.

Read more here.

It’s a curious thing that the most aggressive move yet to influence the world’s most important central bank resulted not in a raucous reaction in the market but a whimper, reports Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban.

He reports in today’s Morning Brief:

Read more here.

Shares of MongoDB (MDB) surged over 30% in premarket trading following surprising momentum in the database software provider’s subscription revenue.

The company posted strong quarterly results on Tuesday, driven by accelerating revenue growth in its Atlas cloud database service and new customer acquisition.

In the second quarter, overall revenue rose 24% year over year to $591.4 million. MongoDB reported a loss per share of $0.58. Both metrics surpassed Wall Street’s estimates for revenue of $553 million and a loss of $0.85 per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

“Many of our recently added customers are building AI applications, underscoring how our value proposition is resonating in the AI era and why MongoDB is emerging as a key component of the AI infrastructure stack,” MongoDB CEO Dev Ittycheria said.

Here’s a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:

Cracker Barrel (CBRL) stock rose 6% before the bell on Wednesday after the company reverted back to its old logo due to consumer backlash and pressure from President Trump.

“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel. We said we would listen, and we have. Our new logo is going away and our ‘old timer’ will remain,” the company said in a statement.

Okta (OKTA) stock rose more than 5% premarket after beating earnings estimates for its fourth-quarter earnings and lifting its full-year revenue outlook.

Snowflake (SNOW) shares rose 4% before the bell ahead of its earnings release on Wednesday. Analysts are expecting Snowflake’s revenue to grow 25.4% year on year to $1.09 billion, slowing from the 28.9% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $0.27 per share.

MongoDB, Inc (MDB) stock soared by 30% before the bell on Wednesday, following the software company’s strong earnings release on Tuesday. The group posted strong quarterly results on Tuesday, driven by accelerating revenue growth in the company’s Atlas cloud database service and new customer acquisition.

I would keep an eye on PVH Corp. (PVH) this morning after a sizable earnings beat last night. The company also reiterated its full year earnings guidance, despite an expected $1.15 per share hit from tariffs.

The clothing company seems to have struck a positive nerve with recent apparel collaborations for Calvin Klein (Bad Bunny men’s underwear) and F1 (Tommy Hilfiger collection, tied to Apple’s (AAPL) F1 movie).

It has more deals in the works, CEO Stefan Larsson told me last night by phone.

I also thought his comments on tariffs were interesting:

“Tariffs are impacting everyone in the sector. We have 70% of our business in international, 30% is the U.S. Then we have the strength of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, which really matters, meaning we have two of the most beloved brands in the market where we, for a number of years now, have leaned into the PVH platform, where we drive product strength, consumer engagement strength and strength in the marketplace, execution to drive growth with pricing power. So that will matter to us.”