U.S. stocks pared gains Wednesday afternoon, after another round of strong bank earnings.
Broadcom, Intel and AMD rose, leading the Nasdaq up about 0.7%. In the latest large deal linked to artificial intelligence, a BlackRock-led investor group said it will buy a big, privately held data-center operator for $40 billion including debt.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. was close to wrapping up a trade deal with South Korea, while talks with Canada were back on track. He said President Trump’s good relationship with Chinese leader Xi Jinping should help stop U.S.-China trade tensions from spiraling.
Gold rose to $4201.60, putting it up some 59% for the year.
Treasury yields rose, putting the 10-year yield at 4.045%.