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

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Indexes up: Dow 0.01%, S&P 500 0.43%, Nasdaq 0.72%

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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 for market open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Twesha Dikshit

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes inched

higher on Wednesday following a sharp sell-off earlier in the

week, as investors set their eyes on 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 2.3% after falling about 4.6%

in the last two sessions.

Most megacap and growth stocks were mixed, though Alphabet

outperformed with a 5% jump.

"We may have a little more back and forth that investors

have been primed for this whole year to buy the dip and we

certainly have had pretty big dips," said Melissa Brown,

SimCorp's managing director of investment decision research.

"At least for now, some of these high flying names may still

get support as investors view the current prices as more

attractive"

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.

As of the S&P 500's last close, the U.S. benchmark has

dropped nearly 4.4% from its October peak and stands 12.5%

higher on a year-to-date basis.

Seven of the 11 S&P sub-sectors were trading higher,

though energy lagged with a 2.1% drop as oil prices

dropped following a report of a U.S. proposal to end the Russian

war in Ukraine.

At 9:43 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

6.58 points, or 0.01%, the S&P 500 gained 28.31 points,

or 0.43%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 160.30 points,

or 0.72%.

Lowe's advanced 3.2% after the

home improvement retailer

posted third-quarter profit above expectations. TJX

rose 0.3% as the TJ Maxx parent

raised annual forecast

with deal-focused shoppers driving demand.

Big-box retailer Target ( TGT ) dropped marginally 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.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closed below their 50-day

moving averages earlier this week - an important technical

threshold - for the first time since late April.

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 ) shares added 6.8%

after announcing a partnership with Epic Games to bring its

games to gaming platform Fortnite.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.23-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.03-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted eight new 52-week highs and 13 new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 21 new highs and 86

new lows.