Sometimes the market just needs one company to say the scary thing isn't true. Wednesday, that company was CoreWeave.

The Nasdaq 100 rose 2.8% to 28,509. Chipmakers did the heavy lifting. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) jumped 6.3%, and Micron Technology Inc. (MU) rallied 13.2%.

The S&P 500 rose 1.4% to 7,628, up 107 points.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 121 points, or 0.2%, to 52,353. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) led the blue-chip index with a 4.6% gain to $176.59, even after Baird cut the stock to Neutral from Outperform and slashed its price target to $200 from $500 over fallout from CEO Jensen Huang's admitted affair. The rebound added about $185 billion to Nvidia's market value.

CoreWeave Revives the AI Trade

CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) soared 25.1%, its biggest one-day gain since June 3, 2025, pulling chipmakers, memory producers and power stocks back into the artificial-intelligence trade. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 2.8%.

The Livingston, New Jersey-based company does not plan to issue parent-level unsecured debt through 2027 at current yields and sees less than $5 billion of parent-level capital needed over that period to deliver its backlog.

Third-quarter revenue rose 168% to $3.66 billion, and pro forma operating margin reached 10.4%.

That is the part that mattered. For months, the bear case on AI infrastructure has been a financing question dressed up as a technology question: who pays for all these data centers, and with whose money? CoreWeave saying it can fund its backlog with less than $5 billion of parent-level capital, without tapping unsecured debt markets at today's yields, was enough to make investors stop worrying about the bill and start buying the hardware again.

Inside the Magnificent Seven

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) fell 2.2% as Anthropic rolled out new Claude tools aimed at spreadsheets and office work. The Russell 2000 advanced 0.8% to 2,844, and the CBOE Volatility Index dropped 8.4% to 17.82.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2% to $87.76 a barrel and Brent gained 2.3% to $93.64, rebounding from two-month lows after Iran's security chief said Tehran would not allow enriched nuclear material to leave the country. Gold slipped 0.6% to $4,007 an ounce, silver rose 1.7% to $52.08, and Bitcoin (BTC) edged up 0.7% to $74,258.

On the data front, mortgage applications rose 6.2% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as the average 30-year fixed rate eased to 7.21% from 7.30%.

Wednesday's Performance in Major US Indices

According to market data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) rose 1.4%.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) edged up 0.2%.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) rallied 2.8%.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) gained 0.8%.

Tech Leads, Health Care Lags

The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) led the S&P 500 with a 4.1% gain, as CoreWeave's results eased fears over who pays for the AI buildout and sent money back into chips, memory and networking hardware.

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) was the weakest sector, down 0.7%, as investors rotated out of defensive groups and into growth.

Elsewhere, energy and industrials rose 1.3% each and communication services added 0.9%, while consumer staples, real estate, consumer discretionary and utilities slipped.

Power and memory names joined the rally. Fermi Inc. (FRMI), a data-center power developer, surged 23.05% ahead of its quarterly results, and Bloom Energy Corp. (BE) rose 15.53% as AI power suppliers rebounded alongside CoreWeave.

SanDisk Corp. (SNDK) gained 15.90% as memory stocks rebounded on CoreWeave's results. In optical networking, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (AAOI) climbed 18.04% and Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) rose 14.45%.

Notice the pattern: it wasn't just the obvious AI names. It was the picks-and-shovels-of-the-picks-and-shovels crowd. Power developers, memory makers, optical networking companies. If the AI buildout is real and financeable, all of them get paid. Wednesday, the market decided it is both.

On the Downside

Revolution Medicines Inc. (RVMD) fell 5.20% for a second straight session, with no company-specific news, as health care lagged. Summit Therapeutics Inc. (SMMT) dropped 4.94% ahead of an FDA decision on its lung cancer drug ivonescimab expected this week.

KBR Inc. (KBR) slid 3.97% after it laid out medium-term targets at its investor day, including organic revenue growth of more than 10% a year through 2029 and an adjusted EBITDA margin above 12%, ahead of a spin-off targeted for Jan. 4, 2027.

Packaged food names lagged in the shift away from defensives. The Campbell's Co. (CPB) fell 3.92%, Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG) lost 3.65% and General Mills Inc. (GIS) declined 2.62%.

Amer Sports Inc. (AS) fell 3.85% ahead of its third-quarter results on Nov. 17, alongside a 3.74% drop in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU).

Wednesday's Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Wednesday's Russell 1000 Top Losers

What's Next

Franco-Nevada Corp. (FNV) reports after the close, with analysts expecting earnings of $1.74 per share.