Stocks rise on AI-led earnings, France's 10-year bond yield hits 5%

Major stock indexes rose on Wednesday, driven by strong earnings from AI-focused companies. The Nasdaq gained over 1 percent, with Super Micro shares soaring 9.5 percent after forecasting revenue and profit margins above Wall Street estimates. SpaceX shares jumped 7.8 percent following Elon Musk's statement that a merger of his companies SpaceX and Tesla would be a good idea, as Tesla also reported a surprise positive cash flow for the third quarter.

AI-related shares declined ahead of third-quarter results, amid investor worries about the longevity of the AI trend. Adam Sarhan, a New York-based investment executive, noted that many concerns driving the market lower have eased, and earnings were coming in mixed to stronger than expected. US bond yields fell, with the 10-year Treasury note yield dropping 0.6 basis point to 5.111 percent.

Global stock indexes also saw gains, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.69 percent, the S&P 500 up 0.58 percent, and the MSCI gauge of global stocks rising 0.7 percent. French 10-year bond yields hit a new 24-year high above 5 percent, and the premium on French yields over German Bunds edged toward a 15-year high. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to prevent recent protests from turning violent and dismissed comments from foreign leaders as "stupid" and "unacceptable."

Carrefour, a French supermarket operator, fell about 13 percent after cutting its guidance due to the unrest. The euro was nearly flat against the dollar, while the US dollar index fell slightly. Australian dollar gained as the Reserve Bank of Australia expressed concern about worsening inflation outlook. Benchmark oil futures ended little changed, with investors weighing the impact of potential Russia-Ukraine talks against falling US oil stocks.