Wall Street opened mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed inflation concerns, interest rate expectations and continued strength in semiconductor stocks, while London markets pushed higher once again.
In early US trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.15%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged 0.1% higher, supported by renewed buying in chipmakers and AI-related stocks.
Among the biggest drags on the Dow were IBM, Salesforce and The Home Depot, all of which declined more than 2%.
Other notable fallers included American Express, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company and Nike.
By contrast, semiconductor shares outperformed, helping stabilise the Nasdaq. Marvell Technology jumped 8%, leading gains on the Nasdaq 100.
The rally extended across the chip sector, with Texas Instruments, Micron Technology and Analog Devices also posting strong gains as investors continued rotating into AI and data infrastructure-related names.
Meanwhile, London’s FTSE 100 continued to trade higher, supported by commodity-linked stocks and improved risk appetite following recent volatility in global markets.
