Stock market today: Indexes slide as traders brace for market-moving Nvidia earnings

Traders are looking to Nvidia's first-quarter results as the catalyst that could power the next leg of the stock market rally.

• US stocks dipped as traders waited for Nvidia's first-quarter earnings results. 
• The bar is high, as Wall Street analysts are looking for solid indicators that the AI market is booming. 
• Investors also took in the Fed's latest meeting minutes, which suggested rate cuts aren't imminent. 

US stocks dropped on Wednesday as traders headed for Nvidia's first-quarter earnings report and took in the latest Fed minutes.

Major stock averages traded lower, with Nvidia shares declining by more than 1% heading into its hotly anticipated earnings call. 

Investors are anticipating another big quarter for Nvidia, which has become one of the biggest beneficiaries of Wall Street's frenzy for anything related to artificial intelligence. Analysts expect the firm to report $24.6 billion in revenue and earnings per share  of$5.34 for the first three months of 2024, according to Bloomberg data, more than double what it reported for both metrics last year.

Nvidia's first-quarter results come at a critical moment for investors as they look for a fresh catalyst to drive the next lef of the latest stock market rally. With the company valued at over $2 trillion, NVDA shares have helped carry the market higher all year, and shares are now up 94% from levels in January.

"It may sound overzealous, but if you get another blowout quarter from NVDA, coupled with the market's current posture of new all-time highs and no resistance to our left, we could really start to see parabolic mode again. Nvidia would certainly take the rest of the semiconductor industry with it," Ken Mahoney, the CEO of Mahoney Asset Management, said in a note this week.

Investors on Wednesday also took in the minutes from the Federal Reserve's May policy meeting. Short-term inflation expectations "rose some," and recent inflation prints didn't increase central bank's confidence inflation is firmly heading in the right direction. 

The minutes pressured stocks heading into the closing bell, with major indexes logging a pronounced decline in late afternoon trades. Some market watchers were quick to note that the latest meeting minutes reflect the Fed's mood before the April consumer price index showed inflation easing from the prior month. 

"Markets could get nervous about committee members willing to entertain tighter policy but remember, the committee did not have April CPI data yet," Jeffrey Roach, the chief economist of LPL Financial, said in a note on Wednesday.

"Although inflation in April eased a bit, Fed officials need more confirmation that the trajectory is favorable for their two percent target. In general, the committee believes policy is restrictive and so the next move for the Fed will likely be a cut later this year," Roach added. 

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday: 

• S&P 500: 5,307.00, down 0.27%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 39,671.04, down 0.51% (-201.95 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 16,801.54, down 0.18%

Here's what else happened today:

• Citi was fined $78 million after a European trader's fat-finger trade caused a flash crash in stocks.
• The Dow is set to surge 50% by 2030 as the "roaring 20s" are alive and well for stocks, according to market veteran Ed Yardeni.
• Stocks are "going nowhere" for the next decade as inflation is here to stay, one CIO warns.
• Baby boomers may be the economy's secret weapon for fending off a recession.
• Apple is a "hidden AI play" as its products will be central hubs for AI apps, "Big Short" investor Steve Eisman says.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil slumped 1.14% to $77.76 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 0.28% to $81.67 a barrel. 
• Gold fell 1.82% to $2,377.86 per ounce. 
• The 10-year Treasury yield ticked higher by one basis point to 4.426%. 
• Bitcoin edged slightly higher to $69,631.