Sentiment on Wall Street could be guarded until Nvidia Corp's (NASDAQ:NVDA) earnings are in the rearview mirror. The index futures are barely holding up early Wednesday. Given the absence of any major catalyst, stocks could tread water and could move about listlessly. That said, the retail space could see some strength, encouraged by Nordstrom, Inc.'s (NYSE:JWN) earnings, while some positive tech earnings could bolster sentiment toward that space.

Market strategist Ed Yardeni said in Yardeni Research's weekly preview that Nvidia earnings are a function of AI investments by mostly other large-cap tech companies, making...