The S&P 500 rose to a fresh record on Tuesday and largely shook off a weak consumer confidence reading, thanks to a sharp rise in Nvidia.
The broad market index advanced 0.25% to 5,732.93. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 83.57 points, or 0.20%, to close at 42,208.22. Both indexes hit intraday all-time highs and closed at records. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.56% and ended at 18,074.52.
Shares of artificial intelligence darling Nvidia climbed nearly 4% after a regulatory filing showed that CEO Jensen Huang wrapped up his sales of the chipmaker's stock for the time being.
Consumer confidence suffered its biggest one-month decline in more than three years, hitting 98.7 for September. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a reading of 104.
The data follows a warning from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon about geopolitical instability "getting worse" and being his "biggest caution." He added that the worrisome backdrop could influence "the state of the economy" moving forward.
"Essentially when you take them both together, they keep the wall of worry built," Evercore ISI senior managing director Julian Emanuel said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday. "We would be more concerned if we started hearing everything's great [or] everything's roses."
China stocks stood out Tuesday following stimulus efforts from Beijing to stoke economic growth. U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba and JD.com climbed 7.9% and 13.9%, respectively. Industrial stock Caterpillar advanced close to 4%.
The major averages are headed for solid monthly gains. The Dow is up about 1.6% in September, while the S&P 500 is on track to rise 1.5%. The Nasdaq is on pace for a 2% jump this month. Some of those gains come as investors grow hopeful that the Federal Reserve's rate cuts will drive economic growth and boost profits. – CNBC