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Investing.com -- Canada’s main stock index was gaining marginally Wednesday ahead of NVIDIA Corp’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) after-hours earnings release.

By 9:55 ET, the bellwether S&P/TSX 60 index was up 1.7 points or 0.1% in trading, following a near 1% gain Tuesday on easing trade fears.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX Composite was higher 28.5 points or 0.1% following the previous session, in which the index jumped 195.9 points or 0.75%.

Markets were bolstered Tuesday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s delay of tariffs on the EU, calming investors who saw heightening tensions leading to a trade war.

In the news, Trump once again called for Canada’s annexation as the "51st state," proposing a cost of $61 billion for inclusion in the Golden Dome missile defense system unless the country complied, making the system free. 

U.S. stocks muted

Trading in U.S. stock indexes was muted on Wednesday, as investors anticipated the semiconductor giant’s earnings report, which is expected to cause a 6% swing depending on results. 

As of 10:05 ET, the S&P 500 fell 2.5 points or 0.04%, the NASDAQ Composite dropped 6.1 points or 0.04, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 7.4 points or 0.02%.

In yesterday’s trading, the S&P gained 2.1%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.8%, following Trump’s tariff delay.

NVIDIA earnings

Perhaps the most important earnings release of the quarter, investors will be eyeing semiconductor industry leader NVIDIA’s earnings report, set to be released post-4:00 ET. Current estimates have EPS coming in at $0.89 and revenues at $43.1 billion.

Key metrics to watch are margins, with NVIDIA’s currently set at around 71%. A decrease in margin could indicate growing competition and the effects of Trump’s trade war.

Investors will be eager to hear CEO Jensen Huang speak on the company’s earnings call, as he has called for a lifting of restrictions on selling recent chips to China. The company’s outlook in China and in general should be the most important driver of stock movement.

Crude Oil prices gain

Oil prices rose in Wednesday’s trading, as concerns over potential new sanctions on Russia raised supply disruption fears.

By 10:20 ET, Crude Oil WTI Futures was higher by 1.7%, pricing in at $61.91 a barrel, while Brent Oil rose 1.4% to $64.44 per barrel.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are weighing the possibility of another production boost at their upcoming meeting this weekend.

Gold Futures muted

Gold traded softly on Wednesday.

At 10:20 ET, Gold Spot gained 0.2% to $3,307.26/oz, while Gold Futures traded higher by 0.2%, pricing in at $3,332.84/oz.

(Peter Nurse also contributed to this article)

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