Sawt Falasteen - Stock markets waver before Nvidia reports profits climb

The tech-heavy Nasdaq index and the broader S&P 500 edged slightly higher after soft openings, ahead of the second-quarter results from Nvidia due out after Wall Street closes.

The California firm then reported profits of $26.4 billion on $46.7 billion in revenue in the recently ended quarter, driven by demand for chips to power computing in datacenters.

"The company has outgrown the tech sector and become the market's lodestar," said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

"The crowd wants reassurance that the AI revolution isn't just smoke and mirrors."

In Europe, the Paris stock market bucked the downward trend by rebounding from Tuesday's tumble, caused by fears that France's minority government could be toppled after Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed a confidence vote over his proposed budget cuts.

France's borrowing costs have soared since the vote was called Monday, as the government wrestles with how to find around 44 billion euros ($51 billion) in savings.

"Opposition parties have signalled they will not support Bayrou's proposals, raising doubts about the government's ability to pass its 2026 budget," said David Morrison, an analyst at Trade Nation.

In Asia, Shanghai's market slid despite a surge by Cambricon -- a leading Chinese chipmaker and a Nvidia competitor -- on the heels of a record first-half profit posted Tuesday.

Also heavily impacting markets this week has been a highly unusual move by Trump to fire a US Federal Reserve governor, Lisa Cook.

He cited allegations of false statements on her mortgage applications, but Cook said Trump had no authority or legal cause to fire her and her lawyer announced a planned legal challenge on Tuesday.

The step adds to fears about the independence of the central bank, fueled by Trump's repeated public demands to Fed chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.

Powell suggested last Friday that more cuts to US interest rates were on the horizon, causing stock markets to surge.

Investors are now awaiting updates to US economic growth data due Thursday and a key inflation gauge Friday for clues on how far interest rates might fall in the coming months.

- Key figures at around 2020 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 45,565.23 points (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 6,481.40 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 0.1 percent at 21,590.14 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 7,743.93 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,255.50 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 24,046.21 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 42,520.27 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3 percent at 25,201.76 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.8 percent at 3,800.35 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1633 from $1.1637 on Tuesday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3496 from $1.3475

Dollar/yen: UP at 147.51 yen from 147.45 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.20 pence from 86.36 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.4 percent at $64.15 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.2 percent at $68.05 per barrel

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S.Barghouti--SF-PST