(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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Indexes: Dow down 0.21%, S&P 500 up 0.25%, Nasdaq up 0.52%

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Fed's October meeting minutes due later in the day

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Target ( TGT ) drops after missing quarterly comparable sales

estimates

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Lowe's shares gain on quarterly profit beat

(Updates with afternoon trading levels)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Twesha Dikshit

Nov 19 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq advanced

on Wednesday following a sharp sell-off earlier in the week,

with tech stocks leading the way ahead of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings that

could prove to be a make-or-break moment for the AI trade.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings, due after markets close on

Wednesday, are seen as a litmus test for the AI-driven rally

that has pushed markets to record highs this year.

The rising market has recently come under scrutiny on doubts

around monetization of the technology, circular spending within

the industry and high debt levels at tech companies to fund AI

investments.

Options data from analytics firm Option Research &

Technology Services (ORATS) showed an implied move of about 7%

for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) stock in either direction after its results.

Shares of the AI giant gained 2.1% after falling about 4.6%

in the last two sessions.

"With NVDA, it has usually been a case of not if they beat

earnings, but by how much as the company has exceeded both top

and bottom-line expectations for 11 straight quarters," said

Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial.

Most megacap and growth stocks were mixed, though Alphabet

outperformed with a 3.6% jump to hit all-time highs.

Worries over high valuations and dwindling expectations of a

December interest rate cut have weighed on the markets of late,

with the S&P 500 recording its fourth consecutive day of

losses on Tuesday.

Including Wednesday's move, the U.S. benchmark has dropped

about 4% from its October peak and stands 12.5% higher on a

year-to-date basis.

While tech stocks boosted the market, energy lagged

with a 1.7% drop as oil prices slid following a report of a U.S.

proposal to end the Russian war in Ukraine.

At 11:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 97.78 points, or 0.21%, to 45,993.96, the S&P 500

gained 16.59 points, or 0.25%, to 6,633.91 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 117.65 points, or 0.52%, to 22,550.41.

The blue-chip Dow lagged as losses in health insurer

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) and planemaker Boeing ( BA ) weighed.

Lowe's advanced 5.6% after the home improvement

retailer posted third-quarter profit above expectations, while

big-box retailer Target ( TGT ) slipped 0.8% after reporting a

bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales with cash-strapped

U.S. consumers pulling back on discretionary spending.

Rival Walmart ( WMT ) is scheduled to report later this

week.

Later in the day, minutes from the Fed's October policy

meeting - where the central bank cut rates by 25 basis points -

are on investors' radar. On Thursday, the September U.S. jobs

report would be in focus.

Among other moves, Unity Software ( U ) added 5.9% after

announcing a partnership with Epic Games to bring its games to

gaming platform Fortnite.

Constellation Energy ( CEG ) gained 5.3% after the Trump

administration said it has loaned the U.S. utility $1 billion to

restart its nuclear reactor at a Pennsylvania plant.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.48-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.37-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and 19 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 197 new

lows.