Wall Street rises as tech stocks climb and oil prices, bond yields hold relatively steady

U.S. stocks snapped a three-day losing streak Wednesday as gains by big technology companies and relatively steady oil prices and bond yields helped lift the market after a downbeat start to the week.

The S&P 500 index rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.5%.

The market has been under pressure this week from rising oil prices and a bond-market sell-off. The rocky start to September follows a mostly positive August during which every major index notched a gain for the month.

While Wall Street remains gripped by anxiety over rising prices, government debt and the impact of global conflicts on the U.S. and the global economy, investors got a breather from the recent volatility in the bond market Wednesday.

"You've seen a nice spike in (bond) yields over the past week or so, and that's made the market a little bit nervous about how much is too much," said Michael Antonelli, market strategist at Baird. "But today, (there was) no real move in yields that's enough to cause any more consternation."

Investors welcomed some encouraging signals about demand for artificial intelligence from two big tech companies, Dell and Palo Alto Networks. The AI boom has been the key driver behind the S&P 500's gains this year.

Dell Technologies jumped 15.8% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks after reporting strong second-quarter profits late Tuesday. The company cited accelerating demand for artificial intelligence computing and raised its fiscal year revenue outlook.

Palo Alto Networks also reported quarterly results late Tuesday that topped Wall Street's expectations, citing a strong market for AI cybersecurity, though its shares fell 9.3% on Wednesday.

Other big tech companies tied to the AI boom rallied. Chipmaker Nvidia, whose big market value tend to give it more influence over the broader market's direction, rose 3.2%, while computer memory seller Micron Technology gained 2.4%.

"When rates rise, we tend to worry about what will that do to economic growth, and that puts some caution in the market," Antonelli said. "On the flip side, you get AI spending, a good report from a company like Dell, and the market takes over again and says, 'Oh, we still have this AI spending tail wind.'"

Markets in Europe fell after markets in Asia closed lower.

Oil prices held relatively steady despite the intensification in the six-month long U.S. war with Iran. The U.S. attacked sites in Iran over the weekend, ending a lull in major hostilities and Iran has since retaliated against sites around the Gulf region.