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Indexes up: Dow 0.6%, S&P 500 0.35%, Nasdaq up 0.66%

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Nvidia ( NVDA ) hits $5 trillion in market value

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Alphabet, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta to report after close

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Fed's monetary policy decision due at 2 p.m. ET

(Updates on market open)

By Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes hit record

highs on Wednesday, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) becoming the first company to

surpass a $5 trillion valuation, while investors awaited an

expected Federal Reserve rate cut and a wave of Big Tech

results.

Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 4.7%, storming past the

milestone after CEO Jensen Huang announced $500 billion in AI

chip orders and plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S.

government.

The stock has risen about 50% so far this year, and has been

among the top boosts to U.S. equities in 2025. Apple ( AAPL )

briefly topped $4 trillion in market cap on Tuesday, while

Microsoft ( MSFT ) trades above that level.

"While the $5 trillion milestone seems unfathomable in a

historic context, it comes in the wake of a company that has

managed to outperform on all metrics," said Art Hogan, chief

market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management.

The S&P 500 tech index gained 1.4%, while the

Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index added 2.1%.

Meta and Microsoft ( MSFT ) were flat, while

Alphabet gained 0.3% ahead of their earnings results

after markets close.

At 09:46 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 0.6%, the S&P 500 gained 0.35% and the Nasdaq

Composite rose 0.66%.

The three major indexes have hit a series of record highs in

recent days, driven by optimism around artificial intelligence,

positive earnings momentum and expectations of rate cuts from

the U.S. central bank.

Boeing ( BA ) fell 3% after the planemaker reported a charge

of nearly $5 billion related to delays in its 777X jet program,

while Caterpillar ( CAT ) shares jumped nearly 10% after beating

third-quarter profit expectations.

Seagate Technology ( STX ) shares rose 13.5% after the

company forecast second-quarter earnings above Wall Street

estimates.

Peers Sandisk ( SNDK ) and Western Digital ( WDC ) gained

7.3% and 8.7%, respectively.

Verizon rose 3% after beating estimates for quarterly

profit and wireless subscriber additions.

S&P consumer staples dropped 0.9%. Both Kraft

Heinz ( KHC ) and cadbury-maker Mondelez International ( MDLZ )

trimmed their annual profit forecasts, sending shares down 2.4%

and 4.2%, respectively.

Of the 222 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported so

far, almost 85% have posted earnings above analyst expectations,

according to data compiled by LSEG as of Wednesday.

FED OUTLOOK, TRADE DEALS EYED

The Fed is widely expected to trim rates by a quarter of a

percentage point later in the day with traders expecting another

25 basis point cut in December.

After nearly a month of a U.S. government shutdown that has

kept key economic data under wraps, investors will hunt for

clues on the Fed's rate path after leaning on private surveys

and corporate announcements to fill the void.

Investors will also keep an eye on any plans to end the

central bank's "quantitative tightening" policy - a long-running

effort to shrink its balance sheet.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump began the final leg

of his Asia trip, saying he had reached a deal with South Korea

and was optimistic about an agreement with China's Xi Jinping.

Talks between the two counterparts are set for Thursday in the

port city of Busan.

Among other stock moves, Fiserv ( FI ) slumped 44.3% after

lowering its annual earnings forecasts for the second

consecutive quarter.