Stocks climbed to fresh highs on Tuesday after the latest round of corporate earnings reports supported Wall Street's positive momentum. Investors are also looking ahead towards the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy decision due out Wednesday afternoon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
Leading the artificial intelligence sector, and in turn the broader market, higher on Tuesday, Nvidia
"Nokia is transforming from a predominantly Radio Access-centric business struggling for growth, to one where rising AI data centre exposure of the Optical and IP Networking segments is expected to drive steady growth," Jefferies analyst Janardan Menon said in a note to client, upgrading the stock to Buy from Hold on Tuesday. "The gross margin profile is also rising."
Also benefiting the sector, PayPal
"It's a whole new paradigm for shopping," CEO Alex Chriss said in an interview, referring to AI technology. "It's hard to imagine that agentic commerce isn't going to be a big part of the future."
On the earnings front, United Parcel Service
The company said its turnaround strategy has resulted in $2.2 billion in savings through the end of the third quarter, and estimates to reach $3.5 billion total annual cost savings in 2025. For its holiday quarter, UPS expects revenue to be $24 billion with an operating margin of 11% to 11.5%.
"We are executing the most significant strategic shift in our company's history, and the changes we are implementing are designed to deliver long-term value for all stakeholders," CEO Carol Tomé said in a statement. "With the holiday shipping season nearly upon us, we are positioned to run the most efficient peak in our history while providing industry-leading service to our customers for the eighth consecutive year."
Wayfair
Chief Financial Officer Kate Gulliver told CNBC that much of the quarter's growth was "driven by our share gain, and that, we believe is really coming from a confluence of factors and initiatives that we started over a year ago that are now starting to bear fruit."
Royal Caribbean
"Bookings for 2026 have come in at rates that are well above the prior year, resulting in a y/y rate growth at the high end of historical ranges," CEO Jason Liberty said in a release. "Looking ahead, we see strong momentum across our portfolio of brands and the differentiated experiences that they provide as consumers continue to prioritize vacations."
In economic news, Private sector employers added an average 14,250 jobs per week over the past four weeks, according to new preliminary data released by ADP. The payroll processing firm will not release a four-week average weekly update in employment was a two-week lag every Tuesday amid the government shutdown.
"ADP's near real-time employment data, released weekly, will now provide an even clearer picture of the labor market at this critical time for the economy," said Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, adding that the firm is working to provide "a dynamic view of job creation and loss at an unprecedented level of weekly detail."
Looking ahead, market participants will turn their attention towards the Fed's latest monetary policy decision, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's afternoon press conference on Wednesday. Key earnings reports include Microsoft
