The Nasdaq rose more than 1% and S&P 500 also ended higher on Tuesday, led by a jump in technology shares as investors eagerly awaited results this week from Nvidia, while Walmart shares climbed after the retailer raised its annual forecasts.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 120.66 points, or 0.28%, to 43,268.94. The S&P 500 gained 23.36 points, or 0.40%, at 5,916.98 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 195.66 points, or 1.04%, to 18,987.47.
Market Movers
Super Micro Computer surged 31% after the server maker late Monday appointed an independent auditor and submitted a plan with Nasdaq that it believes supports its request for an extension of time to regain compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements. The stock will remain listed pending Nasdaq's review of the plan. Super Micro said its board engaged BDO USA as its auditor, effective immediately. The company disclosed in late October that its previous accounting firm, Ernst & Young, had resigned.
Nvidia rose 4.9% following Monday's slide of 1.3%. Third-quarter earnings Wednesday from the chip maker, the largest maker of artificial-intelligence related microchips, are the most anticipated event of the week. The stock has gained 197% this year.
Walmart, the world's largest retailer, reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 58 cents a share, beating analysts' estimates of 53 cents. Revenue in the quarter was $169.6 billion, higher than estimates of $167.7 billion. Walmart raised its fiscal 2025 guidance and the stock was up 3%.
Alphabet rose 1.6%. The Wall Street Journal reported the Justice Department is preparing to ask a judge, in a court filing expected Wednesday, to consider structural changes to Google's business. According to a document seen by Journal, Google would have to sell off its Chrome browser or Android mobile operating system if it doesn't limit how it connects its mobile products to the use of its search engine.
Shares of Tesla gained 2.1% after rising 5.6% on Monday following a report from Bloomberg that said President-elect Donald Trump will be seeking to create a federal framework for self-driving cars. A framework could make it easier to obtain self-driving licenses and allow autonomous cars to drive across state lines.
Lowe's was down 4.6% after the home-improvement retailer reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.89 a share, beating analysts' estimates of $2.82. A year earlier, however, Lowe's reported earnings of $3.06 a share. Same-store sales fell 1.1% in the period. Larger competitor Home Depot fell 0.9%.
MicroStrategy gained 12%. The company will be selling a $1.75 billion issue of convertible bonds and plans to use the proceeds to buy additional Bitcoin. Shares of MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, closed up 13% to $384.79 Monday after hitting a record high earlier in the session. Analysts at Benchmark raised their price target on the stock to $450 from $300 and maintained their Buy rating.
Symbotic swung to a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter as revenue jumped 19% to $576.8 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the period were $54.6 million, up from $18.7 million a year earlier. The AI-enabled robotics technology company said it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue of $495 million to $515 million and adjusted Ebitda of $27 million to $31 million. Shares jumped 28%.
Incyte declined 8.3% after pausing enrollment in a Phase 2 study of a treatment for chronic spontaneous urticari, or recurring hives.
U.S.-listed shares of XPeng were down 3.8%. The Chinese electric-vehicle maker reported a narrower third-quarter loss as revenue rose 18%. Gross margin in the period rose to a record 15.3%.
Market News
Fed's Schmid says it is uncertain how far interest rates can fall
It remains uncertain how far interest rates can fall, though the initial reductions made by the U.S. central bank are a vote of confidence that inflation is returning to its 2% target, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid said on Tuesday.
"The decision to lower rates is an acknowledgement of the ... growing confidence that inflation is on a path to reach the Fed's 2% objective - a confidence based in part on signs that both labor and product markets have come into better balance in recent months," Schmid said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Omaha Chamber of Commerce.
Qualcomm 'positive' on Trump administration as it forecasts chip sales growth
Qualcomm said on Tuesday it was "positive" on President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration and not concerned that proposed U.S. tariffs on China would dampen its business in the country from which it derives nearly half its revenue.
Qualcomm executives made the remarks at an investor event in New York during which the company forecast $22 billion in combined revenue over the next five years from laptops, cars and other products outside its current stronghold in smartphones, a sharp growth from its latest fiscal year.
