U.S. stocks on Tuesday ended with marginal gains, though it was enough to propel the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) and benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) to a fresh record closing high.
Traders refrained from big moves a day ahead of Nvidia’s (NVDA) hotly anticipated quarterly results.
It has been a year since Nvidia (NVDA) delivered blowout earnings that showed massive demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips, positioning itself as the leader in the AI space and sparking an ongoing frenzy in the broader technology sector.
Nvidia (NVDA) is now among the largest publicly listed companies in the world with a market cap north of $2T. Its report tomorrow will likely be a barometer for the AI space, and another blockbuster quarter could give Wall Street’s current rally further legs.
The Nasdaq (COMP:IND) climbed 0.22% to settle at 16,832.62 points, while the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) added 0.25% to conclude at 5,321.41 points. The blue-chip Dow (DJI) gained 0.17% to finish at 39,872.99 points.
Of the 11 S&P sectors, seven ended in the green.
Wall Street is coming off a record-breaking last week, which saw the S&P (SP500) scale 5,300 points and the Dow (DJI) surpass 40,000 – both a historic first. The advance was driven by the latest consumer price index (CPI) report, which showed a smaller-than-expected rise in headline CPI for April and a cooling in core CPI for the first time since October 2023.
“The market seems totally dead, with the Vix (VIX) pinned around 12 ahead of tomorrow’s monthly OPEX in the morning, the Fed minutes later that afternoon, and Nvidia (NVDA) results after the close. Trading volumes have been falling the last couple of days, which seems to give the impression that traders are just waiting for the next major catalyst. One thing seems clear at this point: the stalemate in the market should resolve come Wednesday as each event passes,” Michael Kramer, investing group leader of Mott Capital Management, told Seeking Alpha.
Quarterly earnings from some major retailers took some of the spotlight on Tuesday. Department store chain Macy’s (M) and home improvement firm Lowe’s (LOW) saw differing reactions to their results, with the former gaining more than 5% and the latter falling around 2%.
Market participants also received a roster full of Federal Reserve speakers. Most notably, Governor Christopher Waller, speaking at an event in Washington, D.C., said that he would need to see “several more months of good inflation data” before he would be comfortable with easing monetary policy. Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, speaking at the regional central bank’s Financial Markets Conference, said that he doesn’t expect interest rate cuts till at least Q4 this year.
U.S. Treasury yields were lower. The longer-end 30-year (US30Y) and 10-year yields (US10Y) were both down 3 basis points each to 4.55% and 4.42%, respectively. The shorter-end more rate-sensitive 2-year yield (US2Y) was down 2 basis points to 4.84%.
See how Treasury yields have done across the curve at the Seeking Alpha bond page.
Looking at other active stocks, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) ended among the top percentage losers on the Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND), after the cybersecurity company narrowed its annual billings guidance.
