US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq end up with Nvidia; Walmart hits record after forecast

Univest Financial

19/11/2024 21:56

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      Walmart gains after raising annual sales, profit forecast
    

        * 
      Super Micro surges after auditor appointment
    

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      Indexes: Dow down 0.3%, S&P 500 up 0.4%, Nasdaq up 1.04%
    

  
 (Adds exchange volumes)
    By Caroline Valetkevitch
       NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - 
    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.
    The Dow finished lower.
        All three major indexes started the day lower, with the
benchmark index dropping as much as about 0.6% after Russian
President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear
strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks
earlier in the day, and Moscow said Ukraine had struck deep
inside Russia with U.S.-made long-range missiles.
    Stocks pared losses as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said Moscow will do everything possible to prevent a
nuclear war.
    Chipmaker Nvidia  NVDA.O , which is due to report quarterly
results after the bell on Wednesday, climbed 4.9% to $147.01 and
was the biggest boost for all three major indexes. Technology
 .SPLRCT  climbed 1.2% and led gains among S&P 500 sectors.
        Strategists said expectations are high for Nvidia, which
has driven the artificial intelligence-related rally in stocks. 
  
        Other megacap stocks also rose, including Amazon.com
 AMZN.O .
    "The biggest takeaway today is caution around what's going
on in Ukraine. Largely investors are hiding out in some of the
megacap names, which is a little bit surprising ahead of Nvidia
earnings, but they are highly liquid," said Timothy Chubb, chief
investment officer at Girard, a Univest Wealth Division.
        The Dow Jones Industrial Average  .DJI  fell 120.66
points, or 0.28%, to 43,268.94. The S&P 500  .SPX  gained 23.36
points, or 0.40%, at 5,916.98 and the Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC 
rose 195.66 points, or 1.04%, to 18,987.47.
  
    Walmart  WMT.N  shares rose 3% to $86.60 and hit a record
closing high after the retailer raised its annual sales and
profit forecasts for the third consecutive time.
    "Walmart came in and delivered optimistic guidance," said
Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in
Charlotte, North Carolina.
    "One of the components that was important for the market was
that it said more of their customers are going in and purchasing
items in the higher margin categories, which is something that
has been watched."
    Super Micro Computer  SMCI.O  jumped 31.2% after the
artificial intelligence server maker named BDO USA as its
auditor and said it has submitted a plan to the Nasdaq to avoid
delisting.
    Shares of Netflix  NFLX.O  rose 2.9% to $871.32, hitting a
record high for a second straight day, after the streaming media
company said 108 million people watched a boxing match between
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.
    Adding to optimism, Goldman Sachs strategists forecast the
S&P 500 would reach 6,500 by the end of 2025.
    Investors are digesting picks for President-elect Donald
Trump's administration.
        Trump said on Tuesday he had 
    chosen celebrity
     doctor Mehmet Oz to serve as administrator for the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He also said he 
    will nominate
     Wall Street CEO Howard Lutnick to serve as commerce
secretary.
  
        Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.14-to-1
ratio on the NYSE. There were 172 new highs and 97 new lows on
the NYSE.
  
        On the Nasdaq, 2,459 stocks rose and 1,841 fell as
advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.34-to-1 ratio.
  
        Volume on U.S. exchanges was 13.94 billion shares,
compared with the 14.24 billion average for the full session
over the last 20 trading days.
  

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Walmart earnings    https://reut.rs/48VOnCg
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 (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; additional
reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shinjini Ganguli and Richard
Chang)
 ((caroline.valetkevitch@thomsonreuters.com))