The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite scaled to record highs Wednesday, with tech shares leading the charge following strong reports from Salesforce and Marvell Technology.

The broad market index gained 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 181 points higher, or 0.4%.

Salesforce climbed 9% after the company posted fiscal third-quarter revenue that beat estimates. Chipmaker Marvell also beat earnings expectations and issued strong fourth-quarter guidance, advancing 22%.

Those moves powered the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) to its first all-time high since July. It was last up 1.4%.

"People have come out and said, the tech trade's over. If you look at sector performance, the stocks have lagged since July — but that doesn't mean that they can't reaccelerate," Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, told CNBC. "You could argue that it's good the market's broadening out. But that doesn't mean it has to be a zero-sum game, that technology cannot outperform."

Wednesday's moves come as investors await new U.S. employment data due Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in November.

A report released on Wednesday from ADP revealed that private payrolls grew less than expected in November. Companies added just 146,000 on the month, while economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated growth of 163,000 positions.

The data could give investors insight into the Federal Reserve's next policy moves. Chair Jerome Powell will be speaking in New York in a moderated discussion Wednesday afternoon.

Goldman sees nearly 20% upside ahead for AT&T

AT&T's investor day Tuesday should drive more investor confidence in the sustainability of the wireless carrier's growth, according to Goldman Sachs.

Goldman, which recently predicted a "multi-year case of double-digit annualized returns" for the stock, upped its price target to $28 per share from $25 a share on Wednesday. The new target suggests about 18% upside from Tuesday's close.

At the event, AT&T outlined its plan to expand its fiber network to more than 50 million total locations and modernize its wireless networks. It also expects to return more than $40 billion to shareholders over the next three years through dividends and buybacks. The stock currently has a 4.68% dividend yield.

While AT&T's financial targets for 2025 were largely in line with investor expectations, its targets for 2026 and 2027 represent upside to expectations, analyst James Schneider said in a note to clients.

"We believe the fact that the company provided multi-year targets through 2027 (we had anticipated that only 2025 guidance might be given) reflects management's improving visibility and control over the business, as well as a healthier industry backdrop in wireless," he wrote.

Shares of AT&T have gained more than 41% so far this year.

— Michelle Fox

Buy the dip in AI stocks amid upcoming volatility, UBS says

UBS predicts short-term volatility for AI assets to rise, but still believes that investors can opportunistically add to their positions.

"We expect tech volatility to pick up in the near term, especially in the event of disruption in the artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. But we also think the near-term headwinds appear to be manageable at this stage, and that sound fundamentals should continue to support our positive outlook on the AI growth story," the firm wrote in a Wednesday note.

Despite this, UBS said that investors can still "consider utilizing structured strategies or buying the dips in quality global AI stocks."

"To ride the AI wave in the long term, and without taking any single-name views, we like semiconductors given their exposure to capex spending, and software due to increasing AI monetization," UBS wrote, adding that it remains cautions on smartphones, PCs and consumer electronics — or industries found in traditional tech segments.

— Lisa Kailai Han

UnitedHealth’s investor day canceled after reports of executive shooting

UnitedHealth Group canceled its investor day on Wednesday following reports that Brian Thompson – the CEO of its insurance unit, UnitedHealthcare – was fatally shot in Manhattan.

Shares of the company were around 2% higher in morning trading.

— Annika Kim Constantino, Sean Conlon

Stocks open higher on Wednesday

The major averages opened higher to start Wednesday's trading session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 204 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite respectively added 0.3% and 0.6%.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Pure Storage — Shares surged 21% after Pure Storage beat fiscal third-quarter estimates and highlighted it won a contract with a major tech company. CEO Charles Giancarlo told CNBC's "Closing Bell: Overtime" said he expects the company could replace 90% of the customer's storage to the company's direct flash technology. Following the results, Piper Sandler upgraded Pure Storage to overweight from neutral. 

Foot Locker — The stock sank nearly 15% after the sneaker giant posted an earnings and revenue miss. Foot Locker also slashed its full-year sales and earnings guidance. The company cited a more promotional environment and softer demand outside of key selling periods.

Read the full list here.

— Sarah Min

PSQ Holdings down 30% after Donald Trump Jr.- triggered rally

PSQ Holdings, the owner of online marketplace PublicSquare, saw shares tumbling 30% in premarket trading Wednesday, following a big rally in the previous session.

The stock surged 270.4% to $7.63 after the company announced that Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of president-elect, is joining PSQ's board. 

PublicSquare is a commerce and payments company with a focus on "life, family, and liberty." PSQ is a microcap stock with a market capitalization of only $72 million as of Monday's close.

— Yun Li

Dollar Tree jumps following earnings beat

Shares of Dollar Tree rose more than 4% in the premarket after its third-quarter results topped Wall Street's expectations.

In the period, the discounter earned $1.12 per share on $7.56 billion in revenue, above the $1.07 per share on $7.44 billion in revenue that analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting. The company also said that CFO Jeff Davis will step down from his role.

The move comes amid a rough year for the stock, with shares falling about 49% year to date.

— Sean Conlon

Chewy slides 5% on disappointing fourth-quarter earnings

Pet supplies retailer Chewy slid 5% on Wednesday morning after posting disappointing third-quarter earnings.

Chewy's earnings for the past quarter came in at 1 cent per share, while analysts had expected 8 cents, according to LSEG. Chewy's revenue came in at $2.88 billion, which was in line with expectations.

For both its fourth-quarter and full-year outlook, Chewy guided for revenues that were higher than FactSet consensus.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Foot Locker falls on earnings miss, disappointing outlook

Shares of Foot Locker tumbled more than 14% in premarket trading after the sneaker giant reported a quarterly earnings miss and cut its full-year guidance.

Foot Locker's adjusted earnings came in at 33 cents per share for its third fiscal quarter, well below the 41 cents expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue was $1.96 billion versus the $2.01 billion consensus estimate.

The company now expects full-year sales to decline between 1% and 1.5%, compared to previous guidance of down 1% to up 1%. Analysts were expecting a decline of 0.4%, per LSEG. It also lowered its full-year adjusted earnings per share guidance to between $1.20 and $1.30, from between $1.50 and $1.70 per share. Analysts were expecting $1.54 per share.

Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon said in a release that it expects a more promotional environment and softer demand outside of key selling periods.

— Gabrielle Fonrouge, Michelle Fox

HSBC upgrades Merck to a buy

HSBC anticipates a better year ahead for shares of Merck.

The firm upgraded the pharmaceutical giant to a buy rating, citing opportunities for a recovery in China Gardasil vaccine revenues and its Keytruda combination clinical trials.

"We think that the current valuation leaves a significant margin of safety in valuation for Merck, especially given its strategy to extend its oncology portfolio's earning potential in the medium term," wrote Rajesh Kumar.

The analyst retained the firm's $130 price target, implying 28% upside from Tuesday's close. The stocks is down 6.6% this year.

— Samantha Subin

GM falls on China venture restructuring

General Motors shares were down more than 1% after the automaker said it expects the restructuring of a joint China venture with SAIC Motor to cost more than $5 billion.

"As we have consistently said, we are focused on capital efficiency and cost discipline and have been working with SGM to turn around the business in China in order to be sustainable and profitable in the market.  We are close to finalizing our restructuring plan with our partner, and we expect our results in China in 2025 to show year-over-year improvement," GM said in an emailed statement.

— Fred Imbert, Michael Wayland

JPMorgan downgrades M&T Bank

JPMorgan is moving to the sidelines on shares of M&T Bank, citing its recent outperformance.

"We view MTB's earnings outlook as solid, with large benefit in 2025 from roll off of receive fixed swaps driving sizable uplift to net interest income (NII)," wrote analyst Andrew Dietrich. "However, we expect its office [commercial real estate] exposure and relatively lower loan loss reserves to remain a headwind."

Shares of the regional bank stock have rallied more than 56% this year, outperforming the firm's coverage by 21%. This, and a lack of a near-term catalyst, warrants a breather, Dietrich said. Trades also currently trade slightly above their historical average.

— Samantha Subin

European markets open higher

European markets edged slightly higher at the opening bell on Wednesday, with the Stoxx 600 index climbing into positive territory during early trades.

Investors in the region are awaiting the outcome of a vote by French lawmakers on whether to topple Prime Minister Michel Barnier's government. The motion is widely expected to pass.

Read the latest on European markets here.

— Chloe Taylor

South Korea stocks drop as opposition parties move to impeach President Yoon

South Korean markets fell Wednesday as pressure mounted on President Yoon Suk Yeol to step down after he imposed and then lifted a martial law decree within hours.

The country's Kospi index dropped 1.44% to end at 2,464, and the Kosdaq fell 1.98% to 677.15, recovering some losses after dropping over 2% earlier in the day.

A coalition of lawmakers from South Korea's opposition parties put forward a bill to impeach Yoon on Wednesday afternoon, according to the spokesperson's office of the main opposition Democracy Party.

Japan's Nikkei 225 ended nearly flat at 39,276.39, while the Topix dropped 0.47% to 2,740.6. Mainland China's CSI 300 fell 0.54% to end trading at 3,930.56. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was trading down 0.1% to 19,730 in its final hour of trade.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.38% to end the trading day at 8,462.6 after the country's economic growth came in slower than expected for the third quarter.

— Dylan Butts

Stocks making the biggest moves after hours

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading.

Salesforce — The software stock advanced 6% after the company posted a revenue beat in the third quarter. Revenue of $9.44 billion topped consensus forecasts calling for $9.35 billion, according to LSEG. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings of $2.41 per share slightly missed estimates for $2.44 per share. 

Marvell Technology – The developer of integrated circuits jumped 10% after issuing rosy guidance for the current quarter. The company sees fourth-quarter revenue coming in at $1.80 billion, compared to Wall Street's estimate of $1.65 billion, per LSEG. Adjusted earnings and revenue in the third quarter also topped expectations.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Individual Investors are skeptical of continued market strength in December, BofA says

Individual investors are skeptical that this year's rally in the S&P 500 will continue in December, Bank of America said, citing data from the American Association of Individual Investors.

The latest weekly AAII poll showed the percentage of investors who think stock prices will rise over the next six months fell to 41.3% from 49.9% the week before. Bearish opinion — that prices will fall between now and next May — grew to 33.2% from 28.3%.

With bears growing and bulls shrinking and the S&P 500 above 6,000, the market is climbing a "wall of worry," said Stephen Suttmeier, BofA's technical research strategist. "Individual investors are not raging bulls on last week's rally to SPX 6000," he wrote Monday. Survey results suggest "that individual investors are not convinced that the SPX will continue its 2024 rally in December, but if the SPX does rally into yearend, these investors may be forced into a catch-up trade that fuels the rally" further, he added.

— Scott Schnipper

Stock futures open flat

U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night.

The S&P 500 added 0.05%. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83 points, or 0.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.1%.

— Hakyung Kim