U.S. stocks struggled to find direction on Tuesday, amid cautious sentiment as investors awaited results from chipmaker Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:) due on Wednesday.
By 12:55 p.m. ET (1657 GMT), the benchmark Nikkei average was down 67 points, or 0.2%, up 0.1% and adding 0.1%.
Nvidia Earnings in Spotlight; Netflix Gets a Wall Street Upgrade; Apple Shrugs Off CFO Departure
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) quarterly earnings, due out Wednesday after the closing bell, are expected to serve as a gauge of whether the AI-powered technology rally has room to continue or could soon run out of steam.
Ahead of the chipmaker’s earnings announcement, Truist Securities said in a recent note, citing regular dialogue with component buyers and sellers, that “Nvidia’s business trends continue to improve.”
Away from chips, Apple (NASDAQ:) shares rose slightly after paring losses following the announcement late Monday that Luca Maestri will step down as chief financial officer starting in early 2025.
The countdown to Apple’s September 9 product unveiling event continues to dominate investors amid expectations from some tech investors that the upcoming giant new iPhone could spark a historic upgrade cycle.
Meanwhile, Netflix (NASDAQ:) stock rose more than 2% after Evercore ISI, citing strong survey data, raised its price target on the stock to $750 from $710 per share.
“In our view, Apple could sell more than 240 million iPhones in fiscal 2025 as its AI-powered upgrade cycle takes hold,” Wedbush said in a note on Tuesday.
Paramount Global slips after Edgar Bronfman Jr. ends prosecution; Hine Celestial Group posts earnings surprise
Paramount Global Inc. (NASDAQ:) shares fell 6% after CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. dropped out of the race to control the media conglomerate, potentially allowing Skydance Media to take control of the media conglomerate without a bidding battle.
On the profits front, at the same time, Heavenly Hain Group Shares of Group Inc. (NASDAQ:) rose 23% after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings that offset revenue that fell short of Wall Street estimates.
Sentiment improves on possible September cut
Dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials, especially Chairman Jerome Powell, showed that traders were pricing in at least a 25 basis point rate cut in September.
The highlight of this week’s economic calendar will be Friday’s CPI, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation.
Also on the agenda are revised second-quarter figures due on Thursday, along with the weekly report on.
(Peter Norris and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)