Stock Market Today: S&P 500 rides Nvidia-led tech surge to close higher

Investing.com–  The S&P 500 closed sharply higher, led by Nvidia as investors swooped in on tech just as the third-quarter earning season got underway. 

At 4:00 p.m. ET (2000 GMT), rose 126 points, or 0.3%, climbed 1%, and gained 1.4%.  

Nvidia powers tech; Docusign set to join S&P 500 MidCap 400 index 

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:) led the broader tech sector higher on optimism about the chip demand outlook after Foxconn chairman Young Liu’s said demand for Foxconn servers, which are powered by Nvidia’s upcoming Blackwell chip, is “much better than we thought.”

Alphabet (NASDAQ:) was marginally higher, a day after its Google unit was ordered by a US judge to reconfigure its Android operating system to allow rivals to make their own app marketplaces and payment options, marking a setback for the tech giant’s defense against antitrust claims.

DocuSign Inc (NASDAQ:) is set to join the S&P500 MidCap 400 index on Friday, replacing MDU Resources, sending its shares more than 6% higher. 

PepsiCo kicks off Q3 earnings season; Honeywell spin off plans delight; Roblox targeted in short seller report

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:) stock rose 1.9% after the soft drinks giant reported third-quarter earnings beat expectations but its revenue fell short of estimates as the company faced subdued category performance in North America and international business disruptions.

Honeywell (NASDAQ:) stock rose more than 1% after the Wall Street Journal reported that conglomerate is planning to spin off its Advanced Materials business.

Roblox Corp (NYSE:) fell more than 2% after short seller Hindenburg Research accused the the online gaming company of inflating key metrics including active users and user engagement hours on its platform.  

Fed speakers out in force

There is little in the way of economic data due Tuesday to influence interest rate expectations, although the  of the September meeting are due on Wednesday and the September on Thursday, with investors watching for any signs of inflation remaining sticky. 

Fed speakers continue to chime in on the rate outlook. Boston Federal Reserve President said further rate cuts will likely be needed as inflation continues to fall.  While Atlanta Fed President said the strength in labor market points to ongoing economic strength.    

Traders are currently pricing in an 80.9% chance the Fed will cut rates by 25 basis points in November, and a 19.1% chance the central bank will not cut rates at all, showed.

Traders were also seen pricing in a higher terminal rate for the Fed’s current easing cycle. 

The central bank slashed rates by 50 bps in September and announced the start of an easing cycle. But it still flagged a data-dependent approach to future rate cuts.

(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)