NEW YORK, March 4, 2026, 12:55 ET — Regular session
- AI-linked chip stocks steadied mid-session after a volatile start to the week.
- Nvidia’s photonics investment plan and Broadcom’s results due after the close kept attention on AI infrastructure spending.
- Friday’s U.S. jobs report is the next macro test for rate-cut expectations.
Nvidia shares rose 1.5% on Wednesday to $182.77, helping lift a cluster of AI-related chip names after the company detailed a $4 billion push into photonics suppliers earlier this week. Advanced Micro Devices gained 4.8% to $200.14, while Broadcom added 2.4% to $321.25 and Super Micro Computer climbed 5.9% to $32.48.
The bid matters because investors have been quick to punish anything that hints AI spending may not translate into returns, especially with valuations still elevated and geopolitics back in the price. Goldman Sachs said on Wednesday it sees “correction risks” for global equities in the near term, though it does not expect a deep bear market. 1
U.S. stocks were broadly higher earlier in the session as oil prices eased from a sharp run-up and risk appetite improved, helped by a rally in crypto, traders said. “You combine all of those and it equates to a market that’s feeling further emboldened,” Michael James, an equity sales trader at Rosenblatt Securities, said. 2
Nvidia said on Monday it would invest $2 billion each in Lumentum and Coherent as it looks to bolster data-center chips with photonics — technology that uses light, not electrical signals, to move data. Photonics is being pitched as one way to speed up “inference,” or running AI models after they have been trained, a workload that is growing fast as chatbots and other tools move into wider use. Lumentum CEO Michael Hurlston said the company will invest in a new fabrication facility to increase capacity. 3
Broadcom’s results, due after the close on Wednesday, are the next near-term read on demand for AI networking and custom chips, after investors cooled on the sector following recent swings in “Magnificent Seven” names. Analysts expect Broadcom’s revenue and profit to show another sharp year-on-year rise, with big cloud customers still spending, though some investors are pressing for clearer evidence that the outlays are paying off. 4
The macro calendar is also landing badly for traders trying to hold chip gains. Investors are watching the February U.S. jobs report due on Friday, March 6, after the market has been whipsawed by worries over who wins and loses from AI. “There is very little definitive right now about that, and so I think that will continue to be a concern,” Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, said. 5
But the downside is obvious: a hotter-than-expected jobs print could push yields higher and hit high-multiple growth stocks again, while any sign of slower AI infrastructure orders would land hard on the chip complex that has come to carry so much of the narrative.
For Nvidia specifically, traders are also looking ahead to the company’s GTC conference on March 16-19, where Wall Street expects more detail on its next chips, including products aimed at inference. J.P. Morgan analysts have pointed to options activity heading into the event as investors try to trade around a potential catalyst. 6
Next up: Broadcom’s quarterly report after Wednesday’s close, Friday’s U.S. jobs data, and then Nvidia’s GTC event in mid-March — three shots, in quick succession, at resetting expectations for AI hardware demand.
