Wall St falls ahead of Nvidia earnings; investors assess Russia-Ukraine risks
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Target falls after muted holiday-quarter sales forecast
Nvidia results due after market close
Indexes: Dow flat, S&P 500 down 0.35%, Nasdaq down 0.50%
Updates at market open
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal
Nov 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes dropped on Wednesday, as AI giant Nvidia lost ground ahead of quarterly results, retailer Target's shares plunged following weak forecasts and heightened Russia-Ukraine tensions impacted investor sentiment.
Nvidia NVDA.O is scheduled to report results after the bell and its shares were down 1.2%, reversing modest premarket gains.
The index heavyweight dragged on the Information Technology sector .SPLRCT as well as the tech-laden Nasdaq.
Meanwhile, Target TGT.N plunged 21% after the retailer forecast holiday-quarter comparable sales and profit below Wall Streetexpectations following a third-quarter estimate miss.
It dragged on other retailers such as Dollar Tree DLTR.N and Dollar General DG.N, which fell 4.7% and 4.1%, respectively. Walmart WMT.N edged 0.5% lower after posting strong results in the previous session.
The Consumer Staples .SPLRCS index was off 1%.
Among other growth stocks, Tesla TSLA.O lost 1.3% and Amazon.com AMZN.O shed 1.4%, pulling Consumer Discretionary .SPLRCD down 1%.
Investors also continued to assess geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Stock futures had turned slightly lower after a report Ukraine fired long-range British Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory.
But the spotlight remained onNvidia, which has nearly tripled in value this year, accounting for about 20% of the S&P 500's .SPX returns over the last 12 months, according to BofA Global Research.
However, given the lofty earnings expectations, the company could struggle to impress investors. Options traders are primed for a nearly $300-billion swing in Nvidia's marketvalue after the results.
Still, investors appeared optimistic about Nvidia's results and the broader equity outlook.
"We're starting to gain traction again," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments.
"There's some optimism Nvidia is going to report good numbers... you had earnings yesterday from Walmart, a good proxy of how the low-end consumer is doing, and if the low-end consumer is doing well, investors are happy that the economy's not going to crumble."
At 09:53 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1.09 points, or flat, to 43,270.03, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 20.79 points, or 0.35%, to 5,896.19 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 94.90 points, or 0.50%, to 18,892.57.
Cryptocurrency stocks ticked higher as bitcoin briefly jumped above $94,000, with MicroStrategy MSTR.O and MARA Holdings MARA.O up 11.7% and 9.2%, respectively.
Comments fromFederal Reserve officials includingLisa Cook, Michelle Bowman and Susan Collins are expected through the day.
Traders have increased bets on the U.S. central bank leaving interest rates unchanged at its December meeting, in the wake of strong economic data and signs of persistent inflation. They see a 44.5% chance of a pause next month, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
Comcast CMCSA.O pared gains and rose marginally afterthe media company said itplans to spin off some NBCUniversal cable TV networks, as the rise of streaming prompts it to relinquish some of its most prized assets.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.41-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new highs and 75 new lows.
Nvidia earnings moves https://reut.rs/40S2EOg
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai
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