US STOCKS-Wall St ends modestly higher as AI zeal overcomes Middle East jitters

The Software & Services Index, battered in recent months over worries of AI disruption, ended off 3.3%. Strong results from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and a funding commitment from Alphabet reinforced confidence in the AI buildout.

The S&P 500 and the Dow closed ‌modestly ​higher on Tuesday as risk appetite driven by AI fervor was counterbalanced by tensions arising from U.S.-Iran talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the months-long war. Gains in most of the 11 major S&P sectors kept the S&P 500 and the Dow in the green, with the small-cap Russell 2000 outperforming its larger-cap peers. The ‌Nasdaq ended the session nominally higher.

Small-cap stocks have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the ongoing enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence stocks, which provided some upside muscle. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index advanced 5.9%. The Software & Services Index, battered in recent months over worries of AI disruption, ended off 3.3%.

Strong results from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and a funding commitment from Alphabet reinforced confidence in the AI buildout. "The market is kind of muted at the surface level, but there is a lot going ‌on under the hood, and that describes much of this year," said Mike Dickson, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina. "There's some massive dispersion in the whole AI infrastructure ecosystem."

"Markets could be in ‌for one of these heated, melt-up rallies where the momentum keeps winning," Dickson added. "I would not be surprised at all to be sitting here at the end of the summer a good bit higher." Tehran is studying a U.S. proposal to bring the war to a halt, but has not been in contact with Washington for days, according to Iranian media, which also said Iran is taking a "stern" approach, given what it views as a history of U.S. noncompliance and mutual distrust. Simultaneously, Israel is continuing its strikes on Lebanon, despite Tehran's warnings that the attacks ⁠are threatening to derail ​the fragile truce.

The war has sent crude prices soaring, ⁠reviving worries over inflation and giving rise to an increasing likelihood that the U.S. Federal Reserve could hike interest rates by year-end. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack said on Tuesday that such a hike could become necessary if already-elevated inflation pressures continue to mount. On the economic front, a ⁠report from the Labor Department showed an unexpected spike in job openings, driven by the volatile professional and business services sector. Otherwise, hiring, firing and quits all decreased, suggesting a slowdown in labor market churn in the face of uncertainties related to strife in the ​Middle East and inflationary effects. Analysts look to the May employment report due on Friday, which is expected to show the U.S. economy added 85,000 jobs last month, a monthly deceleration of 26.1%. The unemployment rate ⁠is forecast to stand pat at 4.3%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 228.91 points, or 0.45%, to 51,307.79, the S&P 500 gained 9.94 points, or 0.13%, to 7,609.90 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 7.09 points, or 0.03%, to 27,093.90. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, utilities gained ⁠the ​most, while communication services suffered the steepest percentage loss.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 19.5% after the AI server maker pulled forward its long-term financial targets by two years. In further evidence of AI buildout, Alphabet said it was looking to raise $80 billion in equity offerings, including an investment from Berkshire Hathaway, to fund a costly expansion of its AI infrastructure. Its shares slipped 3.9%. Marvell Technology's shares surged 32.5% after Nvidia Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang called the chipmaker the next "trillion-dollar ⁠company" at the Computex conference in Taipei. Nvidia invested $2 billion in Marvell in March. A 5.7% drop in bitcoin hit cryptocurrency firms. Coinbase dropped 4.7% while Strategy Inc sank 9.2%.

Broadcom reports quarterly results on Wednesday. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by ⁠a 1.52-to-1 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange. There were ⁠571 new highs and 139 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,280 stocks rose and 2,506 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.1-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and 17 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 134 new highs and 96 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.51 billion ‌shares, compared with the 19.93 billion average ‌for the full session over the last 20 trading days.