The tech-heavy Nasdaq has led gains on Wall Street, lifted by a rebound in chip stocks ahead of Nvidia's quarterly earnings, which investors view as a crucial test of AI demand.
Nvidia, the world's most valuable company and the centrepiece of the global AI boom, rose 0.7 per cent.
The company's results are expected after the closing bell.
Investors will crunch the numbers for signs that appetite for AI infrastructure remains strong enough to support lofty valuations across the technology and AI space.
"The expectation is that Nvidia's earnings will be strong. It's the extent to which they are stronger than what is currently baked into markets will be important," said James McCann, senior economist at Edward Jones.
"The bar continues to rise for some of these companies. Can it continue to beat that bar? That's going to be a critical aspect for investors."
The broader chip sector also advanced on Wednesday.
Marvell Technology rose 7.8 per cent, Intel gained 6.3 per cent and Micron Technology added 3.6 per cent.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index advanced 2.9 per cent.
In early trading on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 32.63 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 49,396.51, the S&P 500 gained 18.25 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 7,373.20 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 105.36 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 25,981.68.
Eight of the 11 main S&P 500 sectors were in the green, with the tech sector leading gains with a 0.8 per cent rise.
US stocks have come under pressure in recent days as a sell-off in global bond markets drove yields higher.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which touched a 16-month high of 4.687 per cent in the previous session, eased to 4.651 per cent on Wednesday.
Traders have ramped up bets the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at the turn of the year as the conflict in the Middle East pushes oil prices higher, reviving inflation worries.
Brent crude futures slipped 3.0 per cent to $US108.82 a barrel after US President Donald Trump again said the war with Iran would end "very quickly".
Still, investors remained cautious over the outcome of peace talks as disruptions to Middle Eastern supply continued.
Investors are also awaiting the minutes from the Fed's latest meeting -scheduled to be released later in the day - for clues on policy makers' thinking, as expectations for a rate hike continue to grow.
Markets are pricing in a more than 40 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike in December, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
Expectations for a 50-basis-point increase that month have risen to 13.7 per cent, from 4.2 per cent a week earlier.
Among other movers, Intuit declined 3.5 per cent.
Reuters, citing an internal memo, reported that the company is laying off about 3,000 employees.
TJX gained 5.4 per cent after the off-price retailer raised its annual comparable sales and profit forecasts, banking on resilient demand at its stores.
Target shares fell 7.1 per cent even after the retailer doubled its annual sales growth forecast while Lowe's declined 3.8 per cent as the home improvement firm reaffirmed its full-year forecast.
Games and toy maker Hasbro fell 8.8 per cent after the company reaffirmed its annual forecast.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.68-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and 14 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 32 new highs and 104 new lows.
