However, Nvidia shares, which had risen as much as 2% in premarket trading, fell and were last down 0.7% after a Financial Times report said Beijing would restrict access to those chips.“While the deal does not include the most powerful Blackwell chips, it is a positive step towards maintaining the current good trade relations between the two largest economies,” said Achilleas Georgolopoulos, senior market analyst at brokerage XM.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices and Intel also lacked clear direction in morning trading, despite President Trump saying a similar approach would apply to other semiconductor companies.
At 9:51 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.64 points, or 0.30%, to 47,880.89, the S&P 500 gained 8.47 points, or 0.12%, to 6,854.98 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 32.35 points, or 0.14%, to 23,518.29.
The spotlight this week is on the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, which kicks off on Tuesday and ends with a decision on Wednesday. Data points to persistent inflation above the Fed’s 2% target, even as secondary indicators suggest the once red-hot labor market is starting to cool in some sectors.
Traders now see an 89.6% chance of a 25 basis point rate cut this week, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool, although policymakers remain divided.
Several policymakers have warned that price pressures could easily increase again in the coming months.
Yet markets are still pricing in another 50 basis points of easing next year as the Fed looks to secure a softening employment situation.
Expectations for Fed rate cuts have supported risk-taking, pushing Wall Street’s S&P 500 within 1% of a record high, while an index tracking small caps outperformed the benchmark this quarter.
Traders also kept an eye on a bidding war between Paramount Skydance and Netflix over Warner Bros, sending shares of the iconic Hollywood studio up 11% over the past two sessions. Warner Bros shares added 1.2% in premarket trading Tuesday.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were higher, while Paramount’s decline weighed on the communications services sector.
Home improvement chain Home Depot lost 2.5% after forecasting comparable sales growth and profit below estimates for fiscal 2026.
CVS Health gained 3% after the health insurer forecast earnings for 2026 above expectations.
Advancing issues outpaced declining issues by a 1.69-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite posted 45 new highs and 31 new lows.
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