Just caught the market close on Wednesday and the strength was pretty clear across the board. S&P 500 up 0.81%, Nasdaq 100 up 1.41% - tech was the real driver here. Saw AI infrastructure stocks and chipmakers rallying hard. Western Digital jumped over 7%, Applied Materials up more than 4%, and the usual suspects like Nvidia, ARM, and Micron all pushing higher. The symbol of the day was definitely the AI trade.

Software stocks had a solid day too. Thomson Reuters was up over 10%, Intuit up more than 6%, Datadog over 5%. Even the mega-cap tech names like Microsoft and Adobe showed strength. But what really caught my eye was the crypto exposure play - Bitcoin surged more than 7%, and that pulled the whole sector up. Coinbase jumped over 13%, Marathon Digital up more than 8%. Galaxy Digital and Riot Platforms both in the green.

The backdrop was interesting though. Anthropic eased some AI disruption fears on Tuesday, and everyone's waiting for Nvidia earnings after the close. Bloomberg estimates Q4 revenue at $65.91 billion, so that's the number to watch. There's also this tariff situation - Trump's 10% global tariffs went into effect, and there's talk of bumping it to 15%. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions with Iran are adding some uncertainty to the mix.

On the flip side, homebuilders got hit pretty hard. Lennar down more than 4%, DR Horton down more than 5% - Trump didn't mention housing in his State of the Union, which disappointed the market. Alcoholic beverage stocks also retreated after Diageo cut guidance.

Earnings have been a positive overall. More than 90% of S&P 500 companies reported, and 74% beat expectations. Q4 earnings growth expected at 8.4% year-over-year. So the market had some solid fundamentals to lean on. Overseas markets were up too - Euro Stoxx hit a new record, Japan's Nikkei rallied to an all-time high. Overall, it was a day where the strength in tech really carried the broader market higher.