Copyright reuters
SummaryCompaniesIndexes up: Dow 0.54%, S&P 500 0.20%, Nasdaq up 0.52%Nvidia hits $5 trillion in market valueAlphabet, Microsoft and Meta to report after closeFed's monetary policy decision due at 2 p.m. ETCaterpillar beats earnings estimates, shares surge Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose to fresh peaks on Wednesday, as Nvidia became the first company to crack $5 trillion in market valuation, while investors awaited a likely rate cut from the Federal Reserve and a wave of results from tech heavyweights. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab rose 2.2%, storming past the milestone, after CEO Jensen Huang announced $500 billion in AI chip orders and plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. government. Advertisement · Scroll to continue The stock has risen more than 50% this year, leading the AI rally on Wall Street. Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab topped $4 trillion in market cap on Tuesday, also on optimism about AI deals. Results from Meta (META.O), opens new tab, Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab could make or break the AI trade that has been a primary driver of the record-breaking U.S. stocks rally. "Investors expect Nvidia and other tech companies to continue to beat earnings estimates, not only for this quarter but for future quarters. This bull market for tech remains very much intact," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Zoom in on the key points of this story with Reuters AI Other than the results, investors are awaiting the U.S. central bank's monetary policy decision at 2:00 p.m. ET. It is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. After nearly a month of a U.S. government shutdown that has kept key economic data under wraps, investors will hunt for clues on the Fed's rate path after leaning on private surveys and corporate announcements to fill the void. Traders are expecting another 25 basis point rate cut in December and further easing next year. Investors will also keep an eye on the central bank's plans to end its "quantitative tightening" policy - a long-running effort to shrink its balance sheet. At 11:56 a.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 256.98 points, or 0.54%, to 47,963.35, the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab gained 13.72 points, or 0.20%, to 6,904.61 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab gained 123.39 points, or 0.52%, to 23,950.88. Ad Break Coming Up NEXT StayNext OffEnglish 180p288p360p480p540p576p720pHD1080pHDAuto (180p) About ConnatixV2127676363 About ConnatixV2127676363 Continue watchingafter the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE U.S. indexes have hit a series of record highs in recent days, driven by optimism around artificial intelligence, expectations of rate cuts from the U.S. central bank and positive earnings momentum. Of the 222 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported so far, almost 85% have posted earnings above analyst expectations, according to data compiled by LSEG as of Wednesday. In a typical quarter (since 1994), 67% of companies beat estimates and 20% miss estimates. Caterpillar (CAT.N), opens new tab shares jumped nearly 10% on third-quarter profit beat, while Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab fell 3.8% after the planemaker reported a charge of nearly $5 billion related to delays in its 777X jet program. Seagate Technology (STX.O), opens new tab jumped 12.5% after forecasting second-quarter earnings above estimates, lifting peers Western Digital (WDC.O), opens new tab 12% and SanDisk (SNDK.O), opens new tab 10.2%. Verizon (VZ.N), opens new tab rose 3% on beating estimates for profit and subscriber additions. However, some defensive names lagged. The S&P consumer staples sector (.SPLRCS), opens new tab fell 1.5% as Kraft Heinz and Cadbury‑maker Mondelez (MDLZ.O), opens new tab cut profit forecasts, sliding 4.8% and 3.5%, respectively. Fiserv's shares (FI.N), opens new tab slumped 39% and were on course for their biggest percentage drop on record, after the company lowered its annual earnings forecasts for the second time. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump began the final leg of his Asia trip, saying he had reached a deal with South Korea and was optimistic about an agreement with China's Xi Jinping. Talks between the two counterparts are set for Thursday in the port city of Busan. Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Akriti Shah; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Krishna Chandra Eluri Purchase Licensing Rights
