WASHINGTON - US stocks ended mixed on November 18, as traders anticipated Nvidia's upcoming earnings and reacted to reports regarding Tesla and self-driving vehicle regulations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased by 0.1 percent to 43,389.60, while the S&P 500 Index rose by 0.4 percent to 5,893.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 percent, closing at 18,791.81, driven by a 5.6 percent increase in Tesla's share price.
Tesla's stock price surged following a Bloomberg report indicating that President-elect Donald Trump plans to expedite the regulatory framework for self-driving cars, a move that could significantly benefit the company led by Elon Musk.
In contrast, Nvidia's shares fell by 1.3 percent ahead of its earnings report scheduled for November 20, amid concerns over overheating issues with its Blackwell chips used in servers.
Other notable market movements included a 17 percent rise in shares of Trump Media & Technology, linked to potential acquisition talks with cryptocurrency platform Bakkt, which soared by 162 percent.
Investors are also focused on upcoming earnings reports from major retailers like Walmart and Target, with over 90 percent of S&P 500 companies having already reported, often exceeding expectations.