US stocks slip with Nvidia results on deck

Stocks fell at the opening bell on Tuesday, signaling a pause in the November rally as investors awaited results from AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) and the release of Federal Reserve minutes.

The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped around 0.3%, after the stock gauge closed at its highest level since August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also fell, dropping roughly 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.

Eyes will be on Nvidia’s quarterly report for an update on the fundamentals behind the AI hype cycle, after the company’s stock notched at a record close on Monday. Expectations are high as the chip giant has become the face of the 2023 AI story, after its last earnings spurred a rally in stocks.

Meanwhile, the OpenAI drama is still center stage after Microsoft’s (MSFT) CEO hinted he was open to Sam Altman rejoining the ChatGPT maker.

Microsoft’s shares were flat in early trading on Tuesday, after ending Monday’s session at a record high following its recruitment of the abruptly ousted OpenAI CEO. Wall Street saw the tech giant’s move as boosting its AI prospects, which could be buoyed if it ends up benefiting from a threatened exodus of OpenAI employees.

Investors are also watching for minutes from the Fed’s last rate-setting meeting, amid a debate over whether the rate-cut optimism that has powered the stock rally is overdone. In a holiday-shortened week light on economic data, the comments will be closely scrutinized for any hints to policymakers’ thinking.

Stocks fall at open

Stocks fell on Tuesday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) leading the early morning declines, down about 0.6% shortly after the opening bell, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped around 0.3%. The moves come after both indices closed at their highest levels since August.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), meanwhile, dropped more than 0.1% as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked down about 1 basis point to trade near 4.41%.