Stock market today: Indexes inch up as traders get ready for Nvidia earnings

Nvidia headquarters in Santa Clara, California.

US stocks hovered near all-time highs on Tuesday, with investors largely holding off ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report.

Investors are gearing up for the chipmaker to publish its second-quarter performance on Wednesday, and Wall Street is bracing for potential market swings in either direction.

Given Nvidia’s central role in supporting the buildout of artificial intelligence, the firm’s release is seen as a metric for how well the AI rally is doing. If Nvidia discloses sales or demand weakness, investors may feel pressured to unwind their AI tech bets.

However, most analysts expect the semiconductor firm to beat consensus forecasts. While Wall Street remains largely optimistic, some banks did warn about near-term volatility caused by chip delay issues.

US consumer confidence hit a six-month high in August, according to Conference Board data released Tuesday. Alongside it, inflation expectations fell to a post-pandemic low, although consumer perceptions about the labor market deteriorated.

“We see weakening perception about the job market, likely putting a crimp on consumer spending in the coming months,” LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach said. “Investors recently heard from companies that consumers are becoming more selective, looking for deals and discounts.”

Fresh unemployment data will come later this week, with jobless claims scheduled for release Thursday. New PCE Index data will follow on Friday.

Both data points will be useful in determining the extent of interest rates cuts in September, when the Federal Reserve is expected to start easing policy.

Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 5,625.80, up 0.16%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 41,250.50, up 0.02% (+9.98 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 17,754.82, up 0.16%

Here’s what else happened today:

• Shares in Super Micro computer suffered after Hindenburg Research accused the AI-firm of “accounting manipulation.”
• $85 billion is poised to flood the market, taking stocks up to fresh record highs this week, Goldman Sachs said.
• Recession-anxious investors should turn to municipal bonds for these four reasons, Charles Schwab said.
• The number of bitcoin millionaires has surged 111% since last year, research shows.
• AI investing has given the utilities rally a positive spin, despite a history of signaling recession.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 2.23% to $75.69 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 2.20% to $79.64 a barrel.
• Gold declined 0.22% to $2,523.48 an ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield rose one basis point to 3.835%.
• Bitcoin fell 1.17% to $62,117.