• The market rose slightly on Tuesday ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday.
• The chipmaker is seen as an indicator of the strength of the broader AI boom.
• Consumer confidence in the US rose to a six-month high, according to new data released Tuesday.

U.S. stocks were near all-time highs on Tuesday as investors remained largely cautious ahead of Nvidia’s earnings report.

Investors are eagerly awaiting the chipmaker’s second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, and Wall Street is bracing for possible market swings in both directions.

Given Nvidia’s central role in driving the expansion of artificial intelligence, the company’s release will be seen as a gauge of how well the AI ​​rally is performing. If Nvidia announces a sales or demand weakness, investors could feel pressured to unwind their AI technology bets.

However, most analysts expect the semiconductor company to beat consensus forecasts. While Wall Street remains largely optimistic, some banks warned of short-term volatility due to delays in chip shipments.

Consumer confidence in the United States hit a six-month high in August, according to Conference Board data released Tuesday. At the same time, inflation expectations fell to a post-pandemic low, even as consumer perceptions of the labor market worsened.

“We are seeing a weaker perception of the labor market, which will likely lead to a reduction in consumer spending in the coming months,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial. “Investors have recently heard from companies that consumers are becoming more selective and looking for deals and discounts.”

New unemployment data will be released later this week. Initial claims are scheduled for release on Thursday. New data on the PCE index will follow on Friday.

Both data points will be helpful in assessing the extent of interest rate cuts in September, when the US Federal Reserve is expected to begin easing its monetary policy.

Here you can see the US indices at the close of trading on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m.:

Here’s what else happened today:

For commodities, bonds and cryptocurrencies:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil lost 2.23% to settle at $75.69 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, fell 2.20% to $79.64 a barrel.
• The price of gold fell 0.22 percent to $2,523.48 per ounce.
• The yield on 10-year government bonds rose one basis point to 3.835%.
• Bitcoin fell 1.17% to $62,117.