By Noël Randewich
(Reuters) – Stocks ended higher on Tuesday and the Dow Jones closed at a record high, ahead of a highly anticipated quarterly report from Nvidia (NASDAQ:) on Wednesday and economic data expected later in the week that could provide clues to the path of interest rate cuts.
Heavyweight tech-related stocks were mixed, with a focus on upcoming results from Nvidia, the chipmaker at the center of Wall Street’s rally in AI-related stocks.
Nvidia shares rose 1.5% and it was the most traded company on US stock exchanges, according to LSEG data.
With a 159% increase by 2024, Nvidia is seen as the biggest winner yet in AI technology, and the results follow recent concerns about increases in already hefty spending by Microsoft (NASDAQ:), Alphabet ( NASDAQ:) and other major players in their industry. race to dominate emerging AI technology.
“There’s a very, very high bar to be set, not just for Nvidia’s revenues and expectations, but also for the story they’re telling about the state of AI that’s bringing the tech sector out of its recent funk,” says Ross Mayfield , investment strategy analyst at Baird.
Apple (NASDAQ:) shares closed 0.4% higher, while Amazon (NASDAQ:) fell 1.4%.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.16% to end the session at 5,625.80 points.
The Nasdaq rose 0.16% to 17,754.82 points, while the Nasdaq rose 0.02% to 41,250.50 points, closing at a record high for the second day in a row.
Of the S&P 500’s eleven sector indexes, six rose, led by information technology, up 0.63%, followed by a 0.48% gain in the financial sector.
Data on Tuesday showed US consumer confidence rose to a six-month high in August, while consumers also grew more concerned about the labor market after the unemployment rate rose to a near three-year high of 4.3% last month .
Investors will look to July personal consumption expenditure data, due Friday, for additional clues about the potential pace of rate cuts.
Traders are now betting on a 25 or 50 basis point rate cut in September, according to CME Group’s (NASDAQ:) Fed Watch tool.
Meanwhile, UBS Global Wealth Management raised the odds of a US recession from 20% to 25%, citing weakness in the labor market.
Paramount Global fell more than 7% after Edgar Bronfman Jr. had abandoned its bid for the company, paving the way for Skydance Media to take control of Shari Redstone’s media empire.
Tesla (NASDAQ:) fell 1.9% after Canada said it will impose a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles. The duties apply to all electric vehicles shipped from China, including those from Tesla.
Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:) fell 2.6% after short seller Hindenburg Research said it had a short position in the AI server maker.
The PHLX Housing index lost 1.2% after data showed single-family home prices fell in June as higher mortgage rates weighed on demand.
Within the S&P 500, declining stocks outpaced rising stocks by a 1.1-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 recorded 50 new highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and 57 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was relatively low, with 8.6 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 11.9 billion shares over the previous twenty sessions.
