The Nasdaq Composite gained Tuesday, driven by Nvidia shares, as investors shrugged off concerns of mounting geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

The Nasdaq popped 1.04% to finish at 18,987.47, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to end at 5,916.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 120.66 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 43,268.94.

One bright spot was technology stocks and Nvidia, which gained nearly 5% ahead of its closely watched earnings report Wednesday. Walmart added 3% after posting better-than-expected earnings{

Walmart gains more than 4% on strong earnings, guidance boost

Shares of Walmart jumped more than 4% after the retailer topped Wall Street's third-quarter revenue estimates and lifted its guidance.

Walmart posted adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share on $169.59 billion in revenue. That surpassed the earnings per share of 53 cents and $167.72 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

The company also boosted guidance as consumers ramp up discretionary spending. Walmart said it now expects net sales to grow between 4.8% and 5.1% for the year, versus a previous forecast of 3.75% to 4.75% growth.

The company also expects an uptick in holiday spending.

— Melissa Repko, Samantha Subin

Tesla Alphabet Amazon

"The underlying trend for the market is positive," said Keith Lerner, Truist's co-chief investment officer. "The geopolitical stuff — that's certainly a risk — but you're seeing some modest selling. I'm not seeing panic. It's more of a digestion of the recent gains."

The market pressure began overnight after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the U.S. that the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons had lowered, a new stance coming after President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia.

Then losses accelerated on news Ukraine hit the Russian border region Bryansk with U.S.-made missiles, according to the Russian military. The New York Times confirmed the attack, citing U.S. and Ukrainian officials. The attack was on an ammunition warehouse, according to the report.

"Rising geopolitical tensions has been and continues to be a risk for markets," said Gaurav Mallik, chief investment officer at Pallas Capital Advisors. "The combination of Russia ratcheting up its war rhetoric and uncertainty about how the incoming U.S. presidential administration will respond, is a recipe for stock market volatility."

Treasury prices increased as investors moved into the safe haven, driving yields lower. Gold futures also gained. The CBOE Volatility Index, or VIX, considered the best "fear gauge" on Wall Street, spiked at around 16.

Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 finish higher

The Nasdaq Composite popped 1.04% to finish at 18,987.47, while the S&P 500 gained 0.4% to end at 5,916.98. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 120.66 points, or 0.28%, to settle at 43,268.94.

— Samantha Subin

LPL Financial: Valuation argument for small caps is 'losing merit' after postelection rally

A sustainable shift toward small-cap leadership seems unlikely, according to LPL Financial.

"Small cap stocks pared most of their post-election rally last week as overbought conditions faced a backup in bond yields … the valuation argument for small caps is losing merit," LPL chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist wrote in a Tuesday note to clients.

Turnquist noted that the Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks is trading at 28.4x its blended-forward earnings per share estimates, which is higher than its 10-year average multiple. Revenue growth from small-cap companies has also proved "disappointing" for the third and fourth quarters, particularly when compared to the S&P 500's revenue growth during those periods, he added.

— Pia Singh

Keep watching 10-year Treasury yield and U.S. dollar: RBC Wealth Management

RBC Wealth Management wants market participants to keep an eye on more than just President-elect Trump's moves.

"While investors and the media focus on the implications of the US election and cabinet postings, we continue to view the trend in the US 10-year yield and US dollar as the more important macro catalysts for equity markets," technical strategist Robert Sluymer wrote to clients on Tuesday.

Though the 10-year Treasury yield has jumped beyond initial expectations of 4.3%, Sluymer said it should "stall" at 4.5%. That should allow for further equity upside through the rest of 2024, he said.

Sluymer recommends staying invested in equities that are tied to growth and cyclicals through the end of the year. He also pointed to opportunities for tactical investors in utilities, real estate investment truths and some staples following recent pullbacks.

— Alex Harring

Higher yields the ultimate risk arbiter, says Strategas

With the 10-year Treasury yield approaching the 4.5% level, Strategas says higher yields could create issues for the bull market. Chief investment strategist Jason DeSena Trennert cited two of the last four "get-your-attention" market sell-offs since the start of the bull market in October 2022 on the rise of the 10-year Treasury yield above 4.5%.

"There are a number of good reasons why the S&P 500 should trade rich to history, but higher long-term interest rates can be a demanding mistress," the strategist wrote in a Monday note.

— Hakyung Kim

Super Micro Computer pops 31%, heads for best day since February

Shares of Super Micro Computer popped more than 31% after the artificial intelligence server maker hired a new auditor and submitted a new plan to maintain its Nasdaq listing.

The company said Monday it hired BDO for the role after Ernst & young stepped down from the position in October.

— Samantha Subin

Piper Sandler hikes Reddit price target, says Google is now monetizing Reddit searches

Piper Sandler thinks Google appearing to monetize Reddit searches could mean more gains are in store.

The stock rose more than 3% on the heels of the investment firm, which has an overweight rating on the stock, increasing its price target. Its updated target now implies about 16% upside ahead, as of Monday's close.

"Our October Ad Metrics posits Google is starting to monetize searches with 'Reddit' in the title by posting paid links / products ads above organic results," the analyst told clients in a recent note. "While debate remains on the sustainability of user growth, our data gives us more confidence in the organic top of funnel for Reddit growth."

Reddit has been seeing big gains in recent months. Shares have soared more than 108% over the past six months and around 138% over the past three months.

— Sean Conlon

State Street, Bridgewater announce strategic relationship

State Street and Bridgewater announced a strategic relationship on Tuesday, pairing one of the biggest ETF shops with an asset management firm with expertise in alternative strategies.

The announcement did not specify what the relationship would entail. However, a separate securities filing showed that the firms are working together on a new fund: the SPDR Bridgewater All-Weather ETF. The fund's prospectus said the strategy will involve multiple asset classes, as well as long and short positions.

Anna Paglia, chief business officer at State Street Global Advisors, said the relations would bring Bridgewater's "portfolio construction expertise to retail investors."

The announcement comes two months after State Street filed for a public and private credit ETF in a partnership with Apollo.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Walmart — The big-box retailer saw shares jump nearly 5% to hit a record after the retail giant topped fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations. The retailer also hiked its outlook again as it saw growth in e-commerce and improvements in sales outside of the grocery aisles.
• Super Micro Computer — The server maker surged 29.2% after announcing BDO as its new auditor to replace Ernst & Young, which stepped down last month. Super Micro also provided a plan to the Nasdaq on how it will comply with the exchange's rules.
• Lowe's — The home improvement retailer dropped more than 3% after saying it expects sales to decline in 2024. That guidance overshadowed a better-than-expected third-quarter report.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

MoffettNathanson lowers Apple price target

MoffettNathanson whittled down its Apple price target.

Craig Moffett lowered his price target by $9 to $202. Moffett's new target now suggests shares can fall 11.4% from where they finished Monday.

"As we enter 2025, the prevailing narrative is still a broadly optimistic one," Moffett, who has a neutral rating, told clients. "The cycle might be delayed, but it's still coming, and when we're through it, Apple can sell Apple Intelligence to 1B+ users."

But, he said, "None of this is assured, however."

The stock has added less than 19% this year, meaning it has underperformed the broad S&P 500.

— Alex Harring

Intuit shares fall on report DOGE is eyeing tax filing mobile app

Shares of Turbo Tax parent Intuit fell more than 5% after The Washington Post reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that President-elect Trump's Department of Government Efficiency is looking into creating a mobile app that would let people file their tax returns for free.

The IRS already has a website where Americans can file for free.

— Fred Imbert

Piper Sandler downgrades Kraft Heinz, says RFK Jr. as HHS pick may pose some risk

President-elect Donald Trump's selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary may send shares of Kraft Heinz lower, according to Piper Sandler.

Shares were more than 1% lower in morning trading after analyst Michael Lavery downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight and cut his price target, which still reflects more than 12% upside from Monday's close.

"While RFK Jr. has yet to be confirmed as head of HHS (and it may be unlikely to happen), the possibility may add some risk to KHC," the analyst said. "RFK Jr. has indicated an interest in fighting 'ultra-processed' foods (and many in KHC's portfolio would seem to qualify) by restricting SNAP benefit spending to other, ostensibly healthier food items. KHC's portfolio over-indexes to SNAP exposure."

Lavery also no longer expects retail momentum to improve in the near term and said improvement is still likely two to three quarters away.

The stock has fallen about 16% this year and more than 13% over the past month.

— Sean Conlon

Walmart hits fresh intraday all-time high

Walmart hit a fresh intraday all-time high Tuesday after the big-box retailer posted fiscal third-quarter results that topped analysts' expectations, and raised its outlook as customers bought up more than groceries in its aisles.

The stock rose more than 3% in morning trading and was on pace for its best day going back to Aug. 15 when it advanced 6.58%.

— Sarah Min, Gina Francolla

Options trading to begin Monday for iShares bitcoin ETF

Options for the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) begin trading today on the Nasdaq and some other exchanges, according to data from the Options Clearing Corporation.

IBIT launched in January and has emerged as the biggest of the so-called spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The fund has $43 billion in assets, according to BlackRock.

Options on other bitcoin funds are expected to follow in the coming months.

— Jesse Pound

Stocks tumble at the open

Stocks fell broadly at the open Tuesday as tensions between Russia and Ukraine increased.

The Dow lost more than 300 points, or 0.8%. The S&P 500 shed 0.5% along with the Nasdaq Composite.

— Fred Imbert

Housing starts, building permits decline more than expected

New housing data missed expectations in October as surging mortgage rates coincided with a decline in activity, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

Privately owned new construction totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units, down 3.1% from September and below the Dow Jones estimate for 1.34 million. The total also was 4% below October 2023.

On building permits, the total of 1.42 million represented a 0.6% monthly decline and missed the forecast for 1.43 million. Permits declined 7.7% from a year ago.

— Jeff Cox

See the stocks moving in premarket trading

These are some of the stocks moving before the bell:

• Walmart — The value-centric retail giant gained about 4% after posting fiscal third-quarter results that surpassed Wall Street's estimates.
• Lowe's — The home improvement retailer's shares fell 1.7% after estimating sales would fall year over year. That came despite a beat on both lines in the fiscal third quarter.
• Super Micro Computer — The server maker soared around 26% after announcing BDO as its new auditor. Super Micro also provided a plan to the Nasdaq explaining how it will stay in compliance with the exchange.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Hedge funds sold while other investors bought last week, Bank of America says

Bank of America clients were net buyers of stocks during last week's market slump, but hedge funds were selling, the firm said Tuesday.

Equity and quant strategist Jill Carey Hall said in a note that last week was the biggest net inflow for stocks in eight weeks.

"Last week (S&P 500 -2.1%), BofA Securities clients were net buyers of US equities (+$4.9B) for the second straight week (biggest since mid-Sept)," the note said.

The selling by hedge fund clients amounted to $114 million overall, and $522 million when not including ETFs, according to the note.

Tech was the most-popular sector among Bank of America clients last week, with all major client groups buying.

— Jesse Pound

Walmart gains more than 4% on strong earnings, guidance boost

Shares of Walmart jumped more than 4% after the retailer topped Wall Street's third-quarter revenue estimates and lifted its guidance.

Walmart posted adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share on $169.59 billion in revenue. That surpassed the earnings per share of 53 cents and $167.72 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

The company also boosted guidance as consumers ramp up discretionary spending. Walmart said it now expects net sales to grow between 4.8% and 5.1% for the year, versus a previous forecast of 3.75% to 4.75% growth.

The company also expects an uptick in holiday spending.

— Melissa Repko, Samantha Subin

Russia lowers threshold for use of nuclear weapons

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a warning to the U.S., saying the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons has lowered.

"Aggression against the Russian Federation and (or) its allies on the part of any non-nuclear state with the participation or support of a nuclear state is considered as their joint attack," the new doctrine said.

The new stance comes after President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia.

— Fred Imbert

European markets fall 1% after starting day in positive territory

The Stoxx 600 on Tuesday reversed course after starting the day higher, falling as much as 1% by 9:50 a.m. London time.

Almost all sectors were in negative territory, with banks and travel and leisure stocks falling more than 2% each. Utilities were the sole outlier, adding 0.18%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Asia markets rise as investors assess Chinese policymakers' comments at investment summit

Asia-Pacific markets rose Tuesday after Tesla helped lift Wall Street overnight, and as investors parsed Chinese financial policymakers' speech at an investment summit in Hong Kong.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.89% to close at 8,374. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.51% higher at 38,414.43, while the Topix advanced 0.68% to 2,710.03. South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.12% to end at 2,471.95.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.40% as of its last hour of trade, while mainland China's CSI 300 closed 0.67% higher at 3,976.89.

— Lee Ying Shan

China’s vice premier vows to boost Hong Kong competitiveness, says stimulus push has ‘benefited’ the city

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Tuesday vowed to boost Hong Kong's competitiveness by investing in the city's innovation and strengthening its financial policies.

Speaking at the third Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, hosted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, He Lifeng reiterated Beijing's commitment to "explore and implement" measures aimed at building Hong Kong as an "international financial center." That is according to CNBC's translation of his spoken Mandarin.

Beijing's stimulus measures have already "benefited" Hong Kong, he said, who oversees a top-level economic and financial policy-making body. "The upward trajectory of the economy is more certain."

Read the full story here.

— Anniek Bao

Super Micro Computer shares pop after company hires new auditor to keep Nasdaq listing

Super Micro Computer said on Monday that it hired BDO as its new independent auditor, driving shares more than 37% higher in after-hours trading. The server maker also submitted a plan to The Nasdaq Stock Market to regain compliance with the exchange's listing requirements, and said it will remain listed on the Nasdaq pending its "review of the compliance plan."

Super Micro is late in filing its year-end report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and had announced earlier this month that it was searching for a new accountant after its previous one, Ernst & Young, resigned in October. The company said it told Nasdaq that it believes it will be able to file its annual report for the year that ended June 30 as well as its quarterly report for the period that ended Sept. 30. 

Super Micro's shares are down more than 24% this year, and have plunged 54.7% over the past month over news about its compliance with Nasdaq.

— Pia Singh, Kif Leswing

Stock futures open little changed

Stock futures were trading marginally lower shortly after 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday evening.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 35 points, or nearly 0.1%. S&P futures and Nasdaq 100 futures each shed less than 0.1%.

— Pia Singh