Wall Street Opens Higher as Oil, Gold Climb; Investors Eye AI-Fueled Tech Earnings

U.S. stocks ticked higher after the opening bell Wednesday, with major indexes steady and commodities firming as investors weighed labor-market cooling against optimism for an AI-driven earnings season.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 120 points, or 0.26%, to 46,723.1, the S&P 500 added 0.18% to 6,726.42, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.26% to 22,847.7. Small caps outpaced, with the Russell 2000 up 0.38% at 245.09. In commodities, U.S. crude advanced 1.41% to $62.60 while gold climbed 1.47% to $4,063.30.

Early strength in equities comes as Wall Street prepares for a crucial third-quarter scorecard from Big Tech. Wedbush said it expects a “very strong 3Q earnings season” led by Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon on “robust AI enterprise demand,” adding that the Street is “still underestimating” a $3 trillion AI spending wave across enterprise and government over the next three years. The firm said tech shares “could be up another 7%+ into the rest of the year,” framing the setup as “a 1996 moment… and NOT a 1999 moment.”

Labor dynamics remain a counterweight. Bank of America Institute data indicate a continued slowdown in job growth in September and rising unemployment payments—about 10% year over year—suggesting upward pressure on continuing claims. At the same time, wage growth accelerated across income tiers, with higher-income households up 4.0% YoY and lower-income households at 1.4%. Such dispersion can influence discretionary spending patterns into year-end.

AI capital intensity remains front and center. A research compilation highlights xAI’s latest financing push—about $20 billion via a special-purpose vehicle designed to purchase Nvidia GPUs and lease them back—an arrangement that also includes up to $2 billion in new Nvidia equity. The note flags a potential “AI circularity” risk when chip vendors help finance customers to buy their hardware, even as demand for compute remains acute.

Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, meanwhile, said he is “excited about the opportunities in xAI,” in comments to CNBC cited in the research summary—another sign of confidence from the industry’s leading supplier.

For investors, the morning’s mix—firmer oil and gold, modest equity gains, and labor data that cool without cratering—keeps the focus on micro catalysts. If Big Tech validates AI demand and capex pathways, as Wedbush anticipates, earnings could overpower macro noise into year-end. If not, dispersion in wages and a softer hiring pulse could regain the narrative.