(Updates to afternoon trading)

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Apple ( AAPL ) crosses $4 trillion in market cap for the first time

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Microsoft ( MSFT ) advances after OpenAI restructuring deal

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Indexes: Dow up 0.7%, S&P 500 up 0.4%, Nasdaq up 1%

By Caroline Valetkevitch

Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were higher in afternoon

trading on Tuesday as Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares gained and investors were

mostly optimistic about corporate earnings ahead of key results

from companies including Apple ( AAPL ) this week.

Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) were last up 4.1%. Nvidia ( NVDA ) CEO Jensen

Huang said the company will build seven supercomputers for the

U.S. Department of Energy, and said the company has $500 billion

in bookings for its AI chips. Earlier, U.S. President Donald

Trump said he would meet Huang.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) stock gained 2.4% after the company

reached a deal that allows OpenAI to restructure into a public

benefit corporation while giving Microsoft ( MSFT ) a stake of 27% in the

ChatGPT maker.

Apple ( AAPL ) shares were nearly flat after the company crossed $4

trillion in market value for the first time earlier in the day.

The company is due to report quarterly results on Thursday. Also

scheduled to report this week are Microsoft ( MSFT ), Alphabet,

Amazon ( AMZN ), and Meta Platforms ( META ). Investors are

anxious for details from companies on artificial intelligence

spending.

"Momentum and earnings are pushing the market higher," said

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital

Securities in New York, adding that there is also "enthusiasm

about Trump's Asian trip."

"Earnings have been good," he said. "Of course, we're

waiting for the big tech stocks."

Trump lavished praise on Japan's first female leader, Sanae

Takaichi, in Tokyo on Tuesday. They signed a deal to bolster

supplies of critical minerals and rare earths, as their nations

seek to reduce China's dominance of some areas of key electronic

components.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 346.20 points,

or 0.73%, to 47,890.00, the S&P 500 gained 29.56 points,

or 0.43%, to 6,904.72, and the Nasdaq Composite gained

225.51 points, or 0.95%, to 23,862.96.

United Parcel Service ( UPS ) forecast fourth-quarter revenue

above expectations, and its shares were up 7.8%. Rival FedEx ( FDX )

added 1.5%.

QUARTERLY EARNINGS UP

Third-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated

to have increased 10.5% from the year-ago period, up from 8.8%

seen earlier this month, according to LSEG data.

The U.S. government has been shut down for nearly a month,

delaying crucial economic data and forcing traders to rely on

private releases and corporate announcements. But a preliminary

estimate of an ADP National Employment Report showed the U.S.

economy added an average of 14,250 jobs in the four weeks ending

October 11.

Investors also scrutinized layoff reports from companies

including Amazon ( AMZN ), Paramount, and UPS.

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce this week

a cut in interest rates. Investors will be keen to get any

details on the rate outlook.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.13-to-1 ratio on

the NYSE. There were 504 new highs and 89 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,086 stocks rose and 2,535 fell as declining

issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.22-to-1 ratio.

(Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Twesha Dikshit in

Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Rod Nickel)