The Nasdaq Leads a Wednesday Comeback Rally
Key Points
All three major indexes recovered from early losses tied to the ongoing war in Iran.
The Nasdaq Composite led the rebound with a 1.7% gain, driven by big tech names like Nvidia, Amazon, and Meta.
Tech stocks remain well below their 52-week highs despite Wednesday's solid bounce.
- 10 stocks we like better than NASDAQ Composite Index ›
The war in Iran is setting the tone for the stock market again. Every major index opened Wednesday's session with a downswing, as the military conflict intensified. But after bottoming out around 9:45 a.m. ET, the market mood lightened and the leading index names have been up by at least 0.6% since mid-morning:
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
^SPX data by YCharts
Big tech to the rescue
Tech stocks led the recovery rally. Chip designer Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is up by 2.2% as of 2:40 p.m. ET, as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) gained 3.9% and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) saw a 2.2% gain. As a result, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) index led the index gains with a 1.7% increase.
The trillion-dollar giants had a milder impact on the price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), and the highest-priced shares in this classic 30-name index chiefly gained 1% or less.
In the middle of the pack, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) showed a 1% afternoon gain from its more diversified selection of 503 stocks.
Is this a real rally or just a breather?
This bounce isn't a victory rally. Nvidia's stock is still down 6% over the last week while Meta and Amazon are up by just 3% in the same period. All three stocks are trading double-digit percentages below their 52-week highs. Some investors are concerned that the AI boom is losing momentum; others expect the same AI tools to kill traditional software development and other industries.
It's not surprising that market indexes have been volatile in this unpredictable setting. From military conflicts and international tensions to surprising tariffs and unexpected revisions to economic data, Wall Street is rife with market-moving disruptions these days.
And the tech stock gains on Wednesday make sense in this light. Tech investors are craving signs of stability and a return to normal operations, which has included historic stock returns in the ongoing AI boom. A simple lack of obviously bad news can leave some breathing space in this stressful economy.
Should you buy stock in NASDAQ Composite Index right now?
Before you buy stock in NASDAQ Composite Index, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and NASDAQ Composite Index wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $526,889!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,103,743!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 947% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 192% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 4, 2026.
Anders Bylund has positions in Amazon and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
