Stocks rose higher on Wednesday, building on gains from the previous session, as market participants trade ahead of artificial intelligence bellwether Nvidia's (NVDA  ) earnings report due out after the bell. Anticipation for the semiconductor's second-quarter earnings, which the strength of the tech bull market largely rests on, overshadowed some concerns over the Federal Reserve's independence as President Donald Trump moves to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ) climbed nearly 150 points points to settled at 45,565.23, while the S&P 500 Index (SPY  ) added about 0.2% to close at a fresh record high of 6,481.40. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (QQQ  ) also advanced about 0.2% to end the session at 21,590.14.

Offering some evidence to support the high valuations of leading AI players, MongoDB (MDB  ) shares jumped over 35% on Wednesday after the database software provider beat Wall Street expectations on top and bottom lines in its second-quarter, and offered strong fiscal third-quarter and full-year guidance. CEO Dev Ittycheria said in a statement that many of its new customers "are building AI applications, underscoring how our value proposition is resonating in the AI era."

The raised outlook for MongoDB boosted sentiment for Nvidia, as many analysts bet the world's most valuable company will report another record quarter for revenue and adjusted profit after market close -- something the chipmaker has done for 11 of the past 12 quarters.

Wedbush analyst Seth Basham wrote in a note on Wednesday that the firm expects stocks to continue their bull market strength despite growing concerns of an AI bubble.

"While the Fed Chair Greenspan's irrational exuberance speech in 1997 may have been the most clear warning of a dot Com bubble, the market continued to run for three years," Basham wrote.

"We see today's market continuing to run even after OpenAI's Sam Altman's recent proclamation about investors' overexcitement for AI," the analyst added, referring to comments from the start-up founder earlier this month that sparked a widespread, multi-session tech sell off.

Bank of America analyst Matthew Welty echoed this sentiment in his own note to clients on Wednesday, believing that investors could benefit from cashing in on market dips this fall as volatility returns amid AI bubble speculation and concerns over the central bank losing its independence.

"While pullbacks during asset bubble builds are normal, we continue to believe we remain far from any true top given still subdued vol (see vol still says no bubble yet)," Welty wrote. "With drawdowns during asset bubbles bought at record speed, dip-buying seeing its second best year since the [Great Financial Crisis], and both [Federal Reserve Chair Jerome] Powell & Trump likely to react to any material stress, we think an Autumn sell-off is likely to be a strong [buy-to-dip] opportunity."

Elsewhere, Kohl's (KSS  ) shares rose higher on Wednesday after the department store retailer topped earnings expectations, benefitting from its ongoing turnaround efforts. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance, with its new adjusted earnings per share range between $0.50 and $0.80.

"We managed the business with great discipline in the quarter," CEO Michael Bender said in a statement. "We were able to expand our gross margins, reduce our inventory, and lower our expenses, leading to solid second quarter earnings."

Looking ahead, all eyes will be on Nvidia's earnings on Thursday.