Chip stocks lift Wall Street as investors await trade negotiations

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

(Reuters) -U.S. stock indexes rose on Tuesday, helped by gains in Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and other chipmakers, as investors awaited possible negotiations between the United States and its trading partners for more clarity on Washington’s tariff plans.

President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are set to speak this week, the White House said on Monday, days after Trump accused China of violating an agreement to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions.

The Trump administration wants countries to provide their best offer on trade negotiations by Wednesday as officials seek to accelerate talks with multiple partners ahead of a self-imposed deadline in just five weeks, according to a draft letter to negotiating partners seen by Reuters.

"Unless there’s a deadline, things don’t get done, and he’s trying to enforce a deadline," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.

"If the talks are ongoing, that’s good enough."

In May, a softening of Trump’s harsh trade stance allowed a recovery in risky assets, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq posting their biggest monthly percentage gain since November 2023.

The S&P 500 remains about 3% away from its record peak touched in February.

At 12:03 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 143.83 points, or 0.34%, to 42,449.44, the S&P 500 gained 29.76 points, or 0.51%, to 5,966.11 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 155.31 points, or 0.82%, to 19,399.82.

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Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors fell with real estate stocks leading losses, down 0.8%.

On the flip side, information technology stocks rose 1.2%, boosted by a 3.1% rise in Nvidia. Chipmaker Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) hit a fresh record high after the company said it has begun to ship its latest networking chip that aims to speed AI, last up 2.4%.

A U.S. Labor Department report showed job openings increased in April, but layoffs picked up, signaling a slowing labor market as tariffs impact the economic outlook.

Factory orders dropped sharply in April, as the boost from front-loading of purchases ahead of tariffs faded. Data from the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau showed a 3.7% fall, after an unrevised 3.4% jump in March.

Monthly jobs data on Friday will offer more signs on how trade uncertainty is affecting the world’s biggest economy.

Central bank officials including Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Dallas President Lorie Logan are due to speak through the day.

Shares of Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) lost nearly 7%, leading declines on the benchmark S&P index. The company, which makes consumer health products, said at a Deutsche Bank conference that retailers in the U.S. and China are destocking products due to uncertainty over tariffs.

Dollar General (NYSE:DG) jumped 13.3% as the discount retailer raised its annual sales forecast after surpassing quarterly sales expectations.

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Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) rose 0.7% after Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) said it had struck a power agreement with the utility’s nuclear plant.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.25-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 73 new highs and 43 new lows.

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