Chip stocks lift Wall St as investors await trade talks
US stock indexes have edged higher, helped by gains in Nvidia and other chipmakers, as investors awaited possible negotiations between the United States and its trading partners for more clarity on tariff plans.
US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to speak this week, the White House said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.
Trump's administration wants countries to provide their best offer on trade negotiations by Wednesday as officials seek to accelerate talks with multiple partners ahead of a self-imposed deadline in just five weeks, according to a draft letter to negotiating partners seen by Reuters.
Trump said last week he planned to double tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50 per cent starting on Wednesday, fuelling fresh concerns among investors and hampering global stocks as they approached record highs.
A softening of Trump's harsh trade stance allowed a recovery in risky assets in May, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting their biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2023.
The S&P 500 remains less than 4.0 per cent away from its record peak touched in February.
"The markets are still trading with a decent level of uncertainty because they're not sure how everything's going to turn out," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.
"Having a best and final offer deadline and a framework to move forward should be positive for the markets."
In early trading on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 10.40 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 42,315.12, the S&P 500 gained 10.39 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 5,946.18 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 87.28 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 19,330.74.
Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell.
Communication services declined the most with a nearly 0.7 per cent fall.
On the flip side, information technology stocks led gains with a 0.8 per cent rise, helped by a 2.7 per cent rise in Nvidia.
Chipmaker Broadcom rose 2.1 per cent ahead of its results later this week.
Constellation Energy rose 2.9 per cent after Meta Platforms said it had struck a power agreement with the utility's nuclear plant.
It lifted other nuclear stocks such as Vistra Corp, up 4.4 per cent, GE Vernova, up 1.8 per cent, and NuScale Power, up 2.1 per cent.
A US Labor Department report showed job openings increased in April but lay-offs picked up, signalling a slowing labour market as tariffs impact the economic outlook.
Central bank officials including Fed Board governor Lisa Cook, Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee and Dallas president Lorie Logan are due to speak through the day.
Monthly jobs data on Friday will offer more signs on how trade uncertainty is affecting the world's biggest economy.
Pinterest rose 4.7 per cent after JPMorgan raised its rating to "overweight" from "neutral".
Dollar General jumped 12.9 per cent as the discount retailer raised its annual sales forecast after surpassing quarterly sales expectations.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.67-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 41 new lows.
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