S&P 500 posts back-to-back winning days as chips rally and oil prices slide: Live updates

The S&P 500 experienced a rise on Tuesday, buoyed by growing investor interest in semiconductor companies as traders continued to shift their focus toward these stocks. Concurrently, market participants kept an eye on falling oil prices and sifted through a wave of corporate earnings reports coinciding with the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, closing at 7,722.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a modest gain of 15.99 points, or 0.03%, finishing at 52,377.57. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 1.18% increase, ending the day at 26,477.81.

Shares of Broadcom surged by 4% following an announcement from a consortium of banks, including Bank of America, Citi, and Morgan Stanley, along with Blackstone, regarding a $63 billion financing deal intended to facilitate the acquisition of Broadcom's technology for Anthropic. Other semiconductor companies also benefitted from this momentum, with Micron Technology rising nearly 3% and Advanced Micro Devices increasing by 5%.

These latest stock movements built upon gains from the previous trading day, which had already seen major indices finish positively, largely driven by a resurgence in artificial intelligence-focused stocks after Anthropic filed for an initial public offering on the Nasdaq. This IPO could represent another significant tech listing for 2026, following SpaceX's high-profile debut in June.

Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, noted the cyclical nature of market sentiments regarding AI investments. "The market has these kind of periodic interludes where it gets concerned about AI spending, and then we tend to go back and tech leads us higher," he explained. He observed that after a two-week period of uncertainty, recent trading sessions indicated renewed optimism. However, he also cautioned about the inherent volatility in capital markets, stating, "The potential crack in the foundation remains just how volatile capital markets can be."

The drop in oil prices contributed positively to market sentiment on Tuesday. This decline followed discussions between Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and national security official Mohsen Rezaei regarding the conditions under which Iran might end its ongoing conflict. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell by 1.83%, settling at $99.90 per barrel, while the global benchmark, Brent crude, decreased by 1.67%, closing at $113.88 per barrel.

In other notable market movements, JetBlue's stock surged by 19% despite the airline reporting a larger-than-expected loss for the third quarter. The company expressed optimism about achieving further margin growth in the upcoming fourth quarter. UPS shares also rose, climbing more than 5% after the delivery service reported results that exceeded expectations for the third quarter.

Looking ahead, the Federal Reserve is anticipated to announce its latest rate policy decision on Wednesday afternoon. While the consensus suggests that interest rates will remain unchanged, traders are keenly awaiting indications of whether the Fed may consider another rate hike before the end of the year.