US stock markets close midweek higher

The New York stock market closed higher as investor concerns regarding excessive spending on artificial intelligence (AI) began to subside.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 254.60 points, or 0.49%, to 52,486.49.

The S&P 500 gained 1.31%, or 98.45 points, to 7,619.38, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 1.6%, or 400.31 points, to close at 25,466.19.

The Volatility Index (VIX), often referred to as the market's "fear index," dropped 9.66% to 17.58.

Nvidia shares, which had been under pressure following reports that CEO Jensen Huang was a target of foreign intelligence activities, gained approximately 3% on Wednesday .

The recovery in Nvidia’s stock provided a boost to other chipmakers as well.

Shares of Marvell Technology rose 9.3%, Micron Technology climbed 11.9%, Broadcom increased 4%, and AMD gained 7.3%.

European stocks end week in green

European stock markets closed higher across the board, as the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.72% to 663.05 points.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.78% to 10,835.47, Germany's DAX 40 increased 1.2% to 26,662.77, and France's CAC 40 gained 0.66% to 8,332.87.

Italy's FTSE MIB went up 0.37% to close at 51,946.54, while Spain's IBEX 35 rose 0.46% to close at 20,027.90.