US stocks jumped to new record highs on Tuesday as investors fielded the latest rush of earnings and looked to the Federal Reserve meeting to confirm interest rate cuts are on the way.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up around 0.8%, leading the way higher. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) ticked up by 0.2%, notching its third consecutive record close amid continued hopes for the AI trade.
Nvidia (NVDA) led the way higher, providing a lift to the markets as CEO Jensen Huang gave the keynote address at its GTC event. Shares rose 5% to a record high as Huang said the AI industry has “turned a corner” while announcing a flurry of new partnerships.
Big Tech’s eye-popping run faces a key test starting Wednesday, when “Magnificent Seven” megacap tech companies, including Alphabet (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), Amazon (AMZN), and Microsoft (MSFT), report earnings this quarter. Particular focus is on Amazon (AMZN) earnings after the tech giant said it plans to cut about 14,000 jobs, while Apple set the stage for its results by crossing $4 trillion in market value.
Meanwhile, the Fed kicked off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday with traders pricing in a second consecutive interest rate cut in its decision on Wednesday. The watch is on for clues from Chair Jerome Powell as to the odds of another rate cut in December, as Wall Street grapples with a data blackout caused by the US government shutdown.
Elsewhere, on the trade front, Trump lavished praise on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as the US signed deals on rare earths and trade with Japan on Tuesday. Along with a flurry of other pacts, the move prepares the ground for a key meeting between Trump and China’s President Xi on Thursday.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER22 updates
Today at 8:01 PM UTC
Stocks jump to new records, Nvidia soars nearly 5% as AI boom rages on, earnings on deck
US stocks jumped to new record highs on Tuesday as shares of Nvidia rallied by roughly 5% ahead of the latest earnings rush this week, with a Federal Reserve rate decision expected on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.4% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) ticked up 0.2%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up around 0.8% as chipmaker heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) hit new record highs. The company’s market cap jumped to $4.8 billion on Tuesday, while Microsoft’s (MSFT) valuation also surpassed $4 trillion.
Today at 7:15 PM UTC
Gold falls to 3-week low, pulling further away from $4,000
S&P 500 touches 6,900 for first time ever as benchmark aims for third consecutive record close
Stocks were on pace for a third consecutive record close on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting an intraday high north of 6,900 for the first time ever.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.4%, while the Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.7%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up around 0.79% as chipmaker heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) hit intraday record highs.
Today at 6:06 PM UTC
Nvidia stock hits all-time high after key announcements with Uber, Nokia, and the Energy Department
Nvidia (NVDA) stock really began picking up steam as CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote speech wrapped up, gaining over 3% to reach an all-time high of $198.20 in intraday trading.
As part of the event, Nvidia made several key announcements:
Today at 5:15 PM UTC
Nvidia stock climbs 2% as Jensen Huang says AI industry has ‘turned a corner’
Nvidia (NVDA) stock gained more than 2% on Tuesday afternoon as CEO Jensen Huang delivered his keynote address at the Nvidia GTC event in Washington, D.C.
“This last year, the AI industry turned a corner, meaning that the AI models are now smart enough [that] they’re worthy to pay for,” Huang said.
“AI has now reached a virtuous cycle,” he continued. “What we need to do now is drive the cost down tremendously … so that we keep this virtuous cycle going.”
As part of the keynote, Huang announced on Tuesday that Nvidia is teaming with the US Department of Energy to develop seven AI supercomputers at both the Argonne National Laboratory and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The company also announced a $1 billion stake in Nokia (NOK), which sent shares of the company up 26%.
To hear Huang’s full comments, watch the livestream on YouTube or below:
Today at 4:15 PM UTC
Consumer confidence continues to weaken as Americans see higher inflation, fewer jobs ahead
Wayfair stock skyrockets 20% on wide earnings beat
Wayfair (W) stock is up more than 20% at market open after the online furniture retailer posted third quarter results that beat estimates. Year to date, Wayfair stock has soared more than 130%.
Adjusted earnings came in at $0.70, higher than Wall Street’s forecast of $0.44. Revenue grew 8.1% year over year to $3.12 billion, more than the $3.02 billion expected, per Bloomberg consensus data. Without the exit from Germany, revenue jumped 9%.
“Revenue growth was driven by order momentum,” Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah told investors on the company’s earnings call. “We saw orders grow by over 5% year over year in the quarter, including new orders growing mid-single digits for two quarters in a row.”
One of the key questions heading into the report was whether Wayfair saw pull-forward trends by consumers ahead of President Trump’s latest tariffs on furniture, including new 25% tariffs on kitchen cabinets, upholstered furniture, and lumber after the third quarter.
Shah said, “The only instances of pull forward we’ve identified came from a very short-lived increase in large appliances demand back in the early spring and a similarly short-lived increase in vanities late in the third quarter.”
He said “neither” was exceptionally meaningful, adding that consumer behavior didn’t shift “based on tariffs.”
For the fourth quarter, the company expects net revenue to be up mid-single digits year over year.
Today at 3:00 PM UTC
Qualcomm sheds gains after debut of AI chip
Qualcomm (QCOM) stock on Tuesday shed some of its gains from the previous trading session.
Shares fell more than 3% Tuesday morning after rising 11% Monday following the release of AI chips and data center servers to rival products from Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD). The company also announced a partnership to supply the new AI server racks to Saudia Arabia’s HUMAIN.
Despite the stock forfeiting some of its earlier gains, Wall Street analysts shared positive takes on the news in notes to investors.
Reiterating their Buy rating on the stock, Bank of America analysts wrote Tuesday, “This announcement is a needed diversification away from the low growth smartphone market, which accounts for roughly 75% of QCT revenues.” QCT stands for Qualcomm CDMA Technologies — the company’s largest segment including its chip and software offerings.
Today at 2:24 PM UTC
US job market shows signs of ‘tepid recovery’ in October, ADP says
Apple (AAPL) stock drifted higher on Tuesday, and it was enough to briefly send the iPhone maker’s capitalization above the $4 trillion mark — a feat only Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT) had achieved before.
However, as of 10 a.m. ET, the stock was bouncing around the flat line.
The moves come ahead of Apple’s quarterly results, scheduled for release on Thursday. Shares also got a boost recently following a report from Counterpoint Research that found that iPhone sales jumped 14% year over year, with strong interest in the new iPhone 17 lineup.
Together, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple make up about one-fifth of the S&P 500, with a combined market cap of over $12 trillion.
Microsoft (MSFT) stock climbed nearly 3% Tuesday morning, leading gains among the “Magnificent Seven” Big Tech stocks following the announcement of its deal with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT).
The deal allows OpenAI to restructure itself into a public benefit corporation, paving the way for the company to go public in the future, Reuters reported. Microsoft would hold a 27% stake in the company following the restructuring.
In addition to that deal, Microsoft said it reached an agreement for OpenAI to purchase $250 billion of its Azure cloud services, though Microsoft will no longer have the right of first refusal to be OpenAI’s compute provider.
US stocks rose at the market open on Tuesday and were poised to build on Monday’s record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led the gains, adding 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up 0.6%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.3% after the benchmark ended above 6,800 for the first time during the previous trading session.
The upswing comes as investors sift through the latest rush of earnings and await the Federal Reserve’s meeting this week, where the central bank is expected to cut interest rates and signal more red ahead.
Today at 1:10 PM UTC
Stocks are still king for long-term investing, Deutsche Bank says
PayPal stock soars 14% on earnings beat, OpenAI partnership
PayPal (PYPL) stock soared over 14% in premarket trading after the digital payments company beat earnings estimates by a wide margin and announced a new partnership with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT).
On Tuesday, the company unveiled that it is teaming up with OpenAI to integrate payment solutions into AI surfaces, such as ChatGPT.
PayPal said it will introduce an agentic payments solution called agent ready that will allow users to complete purchases on ChatGPT via PayPal. The company said it would sync merchant catalogs to make products more discoverable on AI channels.
Also on Tuesday, PayPal reported profits of $1.34 per share, compared to Wall Street estimates of $1.21, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company reported revenue of $8.4 billion, also topping expectations for $8.2 billion.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company raised its earnings guidance for the full year to a range of $5.11-$5.15, up from previous guidance of $4.90-$5.05.
UnitedHealth rises after lifting 2025 profit forecast
UnitedHealth (UNH) raised its annual profit forecast after reporting better-than expected earnings on Tuesday, sending the health insurance company’s stock up by 4% in premarket trading.
Premarket trending tickers: Qorvo, Confluent and FedEx
Qorvo (QRVO) jumped 10% before the bell on Tuesday following a report from the Information that Apple supplier Skyworks held talks in recent months to buy its rival.
Confluent (CFLT) stock rose by 11% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the tech group beat Wall Street expectations for its third-quarter earnings.
FedEx (FDX) shares were up 3% before the bell following rival UPS’s (UPS) positive third-quarter earnings results.
Today at 10:10 AM UTC
Amazon says it plans to cut about 14,000 corporate jobs
Amazon (AMZN) said on Tuesday it will reduce its corporate workforce by about 14,000 positions, as the tech giant tries to limit costs amid ballooning investments in AI.
