(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 20 mag - US shares were trading higher ahead of key earnings from AI bellwether Nvidia as investors kept a cautious eye on developments in the Middle East.

Nvidia's first quarter earnings will be closely watched for signs that AI demand is still in a good place. A focus will be on whether Big Tech is still investing heavily in ramping up AI infrastructure.

Hopes are high that AI rollout can boost productivity and economic growth, possibly laying the groundwork for interest rate cuts later in the year.

Later today traders will be watching minutes from the Federal Reserve's monetary meeting in April for possible clues as to where rates may be heading this year.

The Iran war meanwhile continues to run on with few signs of progress towards a peace deal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that handled roughly a fifth of global energy flows before the conflict. In his latest comments US president Donald Trump threatened to strike Iran heavily if a deal was not cut in coming days.

On the stocks front, shares in Target, which have been on a strong run in recent weeks, fell more than 4.6% even as the retailer beating earnings estimates. Walmart is due to report tomorrow.

At 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones was up 579.37 points, or 1.17%, at 49,943.25 points.

The S&P 500 was 64.92 points, or 0.88%, higher at 7,418.53 points.

The Nasdaq was gaining 326.63 points, or 1.26%, at 26,197.34.

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(RADIOCOR) 20-05-26 19:54:27 (0760) 5 NNNN