US futures are flat and global stocks gain after optimism about AI sends Wall Street higher

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.1%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%.

Japan's benchmark briefly hit a record high as investors were cheered by an overnight Wall Street rally driven by optimism about the artificial-intelligence boom. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 surged 2.2% to finish at 58,583.12.

Shares also rose in China. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 26,765.72, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.7% to 4,147.23. South Korea's Kospi surged 1.9% to 6,083.86, as the benchmark continued to benefit from the global demand for computer chips.

In Taiwan, the Taiex jumped 2.1% as shares in TSMC, the world's largest contract manufacturer of computer chips, surged 2.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.2% to 9,128.30.

In his speech, Trump focused on jobs, manufacturing and an economy he says is stronger than many Americans believe. He didn’t dwell on efforts to lower the cost of living — despite polling showing that his handling of the economy and kitchen-table issues has increasingly become a liability.

On Tuesday, before the speech, the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% and the Dow industrials added 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite climbed 1%.

Investors are closely watching for an earnings report due later in the day from chipmaking giant Nvidia. The quarterly report is likely to sway a jittery stock market as investors weigh whether the massive bets riding on technology’s latest craze will pay off.

As has been the case since Nvidia’s chipsets emerged as AI’s best building blocks, the expectations are sky high for the results covering the company’s fiscal quarter, covering November through January.

In other dealings early Wednesday, benchmark U.S. crude oil added 40 cents to $66.03 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 42 cents to $71.00 a barrel.

The U.S. dollar recovered to 156.42 Japanese yen from 155.91 yen. The euro cost $1.1792, up from $1.1774.

Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: https://www.threads.com/@yurikageyama