Nasdaq and S&P close higher as investors await NVIDIA earnings guidance

Tesla shares rose 5.6% on reports that President Trump may ease regulations.

CVS Health shares rise 5.4% after acquiring Glenview and appointing new board members

Nvidia shares fell 1.3% ahead of its quarterly earnings report on Wednesday.

Indices: Dow Jones down 0.13%, S&P up 0.39%, Nasdaq up 0.60%

Nov 18 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 closed higher on Monday, recouping some losses, as stocks rallied as investors anticipated quarterly earnings reports from artificial intelligence giants Nvidia (NVDA.O) (opens in a new tab) and Tesla (TSLA.O) (opens in a new tab) and potential favorable policy changes from the new Trump administration.

Nvidia reports third-quarter results on Wednesday, when investors will assess demand for the company's chips and the sustainability of the artificial intelligence boom that has driven rapid market growth this year.

The semiconductor designer has contributed 20% to the S&P 500's returns over the past year and is expected to report a roughly 25% increase in earnings per share in the third quarter, according to Bank of America Global Research. Nvidia's shares fell 1.3% after reports that its new artificial intelligence chip had overheating issues in servers.

“Nvidia was the last of the Big Seven to report, but we saw a big jump in profits and attention,” said Carol Schleif, chief investment officer at BMO Family Office. “It deserves attention, but it doesn’t feel like it’s getting the same attention it did a quarter or two ago.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 55.39 points, or 0.13%, to 43,389.60, the S&P 500 (.SPX) rose 23.00 points, or 0.39%, to 5,893.62 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 111.69 points, or 0.60%, to 18,791.81.

Energy stocks (.SPNY) led the S&P 500 higher, rising 1.05%, while consumer discretionary stocks (.SPLRCD) also gained 1.04%. Tesla shares rose 5.6% after Bloomberg reported that members of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team are seeking to ease regulations on self-driving cars in the United States. Industrial stocks (.SPLRCI) suffered the biggest decline.

Shares of CVS Health (CVS.N) rose 5.4% after the health insurer said it would add four new members to its board of directors under an agreement with Glenview Capital Management.

"I think we're likely to see significant volatility in a number of specific sectors until President Trump makes further announcements about his new selection later this month," Schleif said.

While stock indexes have given back some of the sharp gains they made following Trump's landslide victory, Wall Street remains in a pretty good position as 2024 draws to a close.

The S&P 500 (.SPX) (opens in a new tab) and the Nasdaq (.IXIC) (opens in a new tab) both posted their biggest weekly declines in more than two months last week, weighed down by expectations that the Federal Reserve will slow its pace of monetary easing and uncertainty about the impact of President Trump's cabinet appointments.

With the crucial holiday shopping season underway, the performance of major retailers such as Walmart Inc (WMT.N), Lowe's Companies Inc (LOW.N) and Target Corp (TGT.N) will be closely watched this week to gauge the strength of the U.S. consumer.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.71-to-1 ratio, with 159 stocks setting new highs and 88 new lows.

On the Nasdaq Composite, 2,158 stocks rose and 2,150 fell, for a 50-to-1 ratio for advancers. The S&P 500 index posted 29 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite index posted 69 new highs and 265 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 14.94 billion shares, below the 14.12 billion daily average over the last 20 trading days.