Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq ended higher on Tuesday as AI heavyweights rebounded ahead of US midterm election results, while Apple fell after the iPhone maker joined the list of Big Tech companies whose quarterly results failed to impress investors.
Apple (AAPL.O), dropped after it warned that the cost of memory chips would continue to rise, pressuring its holiday-quarter gross margin.
Memory-chip maker Micron Technology (MU.O), gained, while Nvidia (NVDA.O), also rose after falling in the last four sessions.
The broader Philadelphia chips index (.SOX), jumped, while AMD (AMD.O), rose ahead of its quarterly report due after the bell.
Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Amazon (AMZN.O), each moved higher.
"This is a rotation from safe tech, like Apple, into riskier tech, like chipmakers," said Jay Hatfield, chief executive officer at Infrastructure Capital Management. "It's clear dip-buying in a higher-risk, Nasdaq-driven market."
The Nasdaq 100 (.NDX), on Monday ended more than 10% below its October 6 record-high close, confirming that the tech-heavy index has entered a correction as investors worry that massive investments in AI infrastructure are outpacing near-term cash generation.
Shares of Amazon and Alphabet (GOOGL.O), fell sharply last week after their quarterly results deepened investors' concerns about the cost of heavy AI spending.
The S&P 500 is down about 3% from its record-high close on October 6, and it remains up over 10% in 2026.
Oil prices eased as investors weighed talks to end the wars in Ukraine and Iran against worries about additional supply disruptions from recent attacks in both conflicts. Iran and the United States are still far from a deal to end their war, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX), gained 26.65 points, or 0.35%, to end at 7,568.05 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), gained 201.31 points, or 0.83%, to 25,365.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), fell 206.00 points, or 0.40%, to 51,782.29.
AI-powered analytics software provider Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O), forecast revenue above estimates for the last three months of the year after topping third-quarter expectations. Its shares dipped.
MIDTERM RESULTS ON TAP
American voters will deliver a verdict on the first two years of President Donald Trump's second term in Tuesday's midterm elections, with polls and nonpartisan analysts favoring Democrats to wrest the House from Republicans, while control of the Senate remains uncertain.
"Markets will assess potential implications for fiscal policy, regulation, taxation and government spending. This will be good to put behind us as it has been an anticipated volatility event for quite some time," said Ken Mahoney, CEO of Mahoney Asset Management.
Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note earlier this week that the elections should help remove a major market overhang. They believe a US market correction that began in June is in its "final innings."
Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco and Shashwat Chauhan and Utkarsh Hathi in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis
