Leading Wall Street indexes advanced on Tuesday, and the world’s largest company, Nvidia, broke a losing streak. After seven straight trading days in the red, the chipmaker turned a corner, with its stock rising 2.2 percent ahead of Wednesday, when the company reports its interim results after the market closes.
The gains were broad-based. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average each rose 0.3 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 0.7 percent, a modest but welcome rebound after a stretch of caution around the most heavily weighted technology names.
Much of the market’s cheer traced back to the energy market. Falling oil prices pushed long-term interest rates lower, easing one of the pressures that had weighed on equities, and helping to explain why investors were willing to step back in ahead of a closely watched earnings report.
The oil move was pronounced. A barrel of North Sea crude cost 87.6 dollars on Tuesday evening, down from 92.2 dollars the day before, a sharp single-session decline that rippled through rate expectations and, by extension, share prices.
For Nvidia, the timing is pointed. A 2.2 percent bounce after a week of losses steadies the stock just as its results come into view, and given the company’s outsized weight in the indexes, its performance on Wednesday is likely to set the tone for the broader market far beyond a single trading session.
