Nvidia Earnings Drive Nasdaq; Target Slumps

Nvidia Earnings Drive Nasdaq; Target Slumps

U.S. equities moved decisively in the past 24 hours as Nvidia’s closely watched earnings report, a spike in corporate layoffs, and mixed retail results set the tone for traders. The Nasdaq led declines while investors parsed company-level signals — Target warned on sales, Lowe’s beat expectations and lifted guidance, and several large names are queued to report after the close.

Key headlines and data points

Nvidia: the day’s headline

Nvidia’s quarterly report landed as the pivotal event. Wall Street expected roughly $54.9 billion in revenue, and options traders priced in elevated volatility of about 7.7% around the announcement. Given Nvidia’s outsized weighting in the Nasdaq and S&P 500, its results and updated guidance had an outsized effect on tech-sector sentiment.

Retail results: Target versus Lowe’s

Retail earnings painted a split picture. Target reported weaker-than-anticipated sales and softened near-term commentary on holiday demand, which weighed on consumer discretionary names. By contrast, Lowe’s surprised to the upside and raised its full-year outlook, signaling continued strength in home improvement spending despite pockets of consumer caution.

Other corporate movers

Walmart and Palo Alto Networks were on the earnings calendar, keeping traders attentive to broader consumption trends and enterprise IT demand. These reports, combined with Nvidia’s, concentrated the day’s liquidity and raised the stakes for how indexes will react in the session that follows.

Macro & sentiment drivers

Labor disruptions heighten caution

October’s wave of job-cut announcements — roughly 153,074 layoffs in the month, the highest monthly total in years — intensified investor caution. Year-to-date job-cut figures are up significantly versus the prior period, amplifying concerns about demand and corporate cost pressures that resonate especially in tech and discretionary sectors.

Index performance snapshot

Market internals showed tech-led weakness: the Nasdaq fell about 1.6%, the S&P 500 dipped roughly 0.9%, and the Dow retreated near 0.8%. At mid-session the S&P 500 traded near 6,710.76, down approximately 85.5 points (around 1.26%). These moves reflect a risk-off tilt ahead of major earnings and in response to labor announcements.

What investors should watch next

With Nvidia’s results fresh, leadership in the indexes could shift quickly: better-than-expected guidance may reignite the AI-related rally, while conservative commentary could prompt broad tech weakness. Retail divergence — Target’s softness versus Lowe’s resilience — underscores the need to evaluate consumer demand at the sector level rather than treating it as uniform.

Finally, elevated earnings-season volatility and persistent layoff headlines suggest a higher probability of episodic swings. Positioning should reflect that earnings-driven volatility can create short windows for decisive moves, and sector rotations may accelerate as investors reprice growth and profitability expectations.

Conclusion

The past 24 hours sharpened the market narrative: Nvidia’s earnings are the primary catalyst for tech indexes, retail reports reveal uneven consumer strength, and labor headwinds keep risk appetite tempered. Investors focusing on earnings beats, guidance changes, and labor trends will gain the clearest signals for near-term allocation decisions.