U.S. Stocks Close Tuesday Higher

(MENAFN) U.S. equity markets climbed Tuesday, powered by broad-based strength in technology stocks, as Wall Street braced for a closely watched earnings report from chipmaker Nvidia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 370.44 points, or 0.76 percent, settling at 49,174.5. The S&P 500 advanced 52.32 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 6,890.07, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 236.41 points, or 1.04 percent, finishing at 22,863.68.

Nine of the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors ended the session in positive territory. Consumer discretionary and industrials paced the advance, rising 1.58 percent and 1.23 percent, respectively. Health and energy were the session’s lone laggards, shedding 0.53 percent and 0.11 percent.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was the standout performer of the day, rocketing 8.77 percent after disclosing a landmark multi-year partnership with Meta. The agreement calls for the deployment of up to six gigawatts of AMD’s graphics processing units across Meta’s artificial intelligence data centers. Meta will also take a financial stake in the chipmaker through a performance-based warrant covering up to 160 million shares.

On the macroeconomic front, fresh labor market data offered an encouraging signal. Payroll processing firm ADP reported that private-sector employment rose by 12,750 for the week ending February 7 — the fourth straight week of gains and the steepest single-week increase since late November of the prior year.

Consumer sentiment also nudged upward. The Conference Board announced Tuesday that its consumer confidence index edged 2.2 points higher to 91.2 in February, compared to an upwardly revised reading of 89 in January.

Among individual movers, Home Depot climbed 1.99 percent following its latest earnings release, while Hims & Hers Health slipped 0.32 percent. Whirlpool was the session’s most dramatic decliner, cratering 13.87 percent after the appliance giant unveiled plans to issue $800 million in new shares, partly to reduce its debt load. FedEx eked out a gain of less than 1 percent after the logistics heavyweight filed a federal lawsuit seeking a tariff refund from the U.S. government.

All eyes now turn to Nvidia, whose quarterly earnings — due after Wednesday’s closing bell — are expected to serve as a critical gauge of sustained investor appetite for artificial intelligence.

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