By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The Nasdaq rose about 1% and the S&P 500 also climbed on Tuesday, led by a jump in technology shares as investors eagerly awaited results this week from Nvidia, while Walmart (NYSE:WMT) shares advanced after the retailer raised its annual forecasts.
The Dow edged lower.
Nvidia, which reports third-quarter results on Wednesday, rose 3.9% and was the biggest positive on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The technology sector was up 1.2%.
Other megacap stocks also rose, including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN).
All three major indexes opened lower and the benchmark index dropped as much as 0.64% after Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks earlier in the day, and Moscow said Ukraine had struck deep inside Russia with U.S.-made long-range missiles.
Stocks pared losses as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow will do everything possible to prevent the breakout of a nuclear war.
"The biggest takeaway today is caution around what's going on in Ukraine. Largely investors are hiding out in some of the megacap names, which is a little bit surprising ahead of Nvidia earnings. But they are highly liquid," said Timothy Chubb (NYSE:CB), chief investment officer at Girard, a Univest Wealth Division.
Walmart's earnings were upbeat and "seeing some resilience" in the consumer ahead the holidays is a positive, he added.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 78.86 points, or 0.18%, to 43,310.74, the S&P 500 gained 25.68 points, or 0.44%, to 5,919.3 and the Nasdaq Composite added 183.44 points, or 0.98%, to 18,975.25.
Investors are also awaiting key cabinet appointments for President-elect Donald Trump's administration.
Walmart shares hit a record high and were last up 3.8% at $87.34 after the retailer raised its annual sales and profit forecasts for the third consecutive time.
Super Micro Computer rose 31.7% after the artificial intelligence server maker named BDO USA as its auditor and said it has submitted a plan to the Nasdaq to avoid delisting.
Adding to optimism, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) strategists forecast the S&P 500 would reach 6,500 by the end of 2025.