(Updates with volume, Nvidia ( NVDA ), other tech shares higher after the

bell)

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Target ( TGT ) drops after missing quarterly comparable sales

estimates

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Indexes briefly pare gains after Fed minutes

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September US jobs report due on Thursday

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Indexes: Dow up 0.1%, S&P 500 up 0.4%, Nasdaq up 0.6%

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended a choppy

session higher on Wednesday, bouncing off recent losses as

technology stocks rose ahead of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) quarterly results.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares gained more than 5% after ending the

regular session up 2.8% as the artificial intelligence leader

forecast

fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates. Shares

of Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) rose 2.8% after the bell,

while Alphabet was up 1.6% and Palantir Technologies ( PLTR )

was up 4%.

"The market is breathing a big, collective sigh of relief

because Nvidia ( NVDA ) is confirming that AI demand is strong," said

Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York.

"If it sticks and stays by tomorrow's close ... this

little pullback in the market could end." The S&P 500 is still

down more than 3% from its October highs.

Indexes briefly pared gains during the regular session

after minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting showed

policymakers cautioned that lower borrowing costs could

undermine the fight against inflation. The Fed cut rates by a

quarter of a percentage point at each of its meetings in

September and October.

Worries about a cooling labor market persisted ahead of

Thursday's release of the September U.S. jobs report following

the record-long U.S. government shutdown. The U.S. Bureau of

Labor Statistics said it will not publish the October employment

report, but will instead combine nonfarm payrolls for that month

with November's report.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results have been seen as a test for the AI-driven

rally that has powered the market to record highs this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 47.03 points, or

0.10%, to 46,138.77, the S&P 500 gained 24.84 points, or

0.38%, to 6,642.16 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced

131.38 points, or 0.59%, to 22,564.23.

Investors have worried about how companies will be able to

make money from their huge investments in AI.

Among decliners, Target ( TGT ) shares fell 2.8% after the

retailer reported a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales

as cash-strapped U.S. consumers cut back on discretionary

spending.

Shares of Walmart ( WMT ), which is due to report earnings

on Thursday before the bell, ended 0.8% lower.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.59-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, where there were 55 new highs and 211 new lows.

On the Nasdaq, 1,846 stocks rose and 2,851 fell, as

declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.54-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 22 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 48 new highs and 305 new

lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.46 billion shares, compared

with the roughly 20.2 billion average for the full session over

the last 20 trading days.