The Nasdaq Composite led market gains on Tuesday as investors poured into Nvidia (NVDA  ) ahead of the chipmaker's earnings report due later this week, broadly shaking off earlier concerns over increasing tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The tech-heavy index rose more than 1%, while the S&P 500 Index gained 0.4% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped over 100 points lower.

Here's how the market settled on Tuesday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.40% or +23.36 points to 5,916.98

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.28% or -120.66 points to 43,268.94

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +1.04% or +195.66 points to 18,987.47

Moving Markets:

Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Ukraine had deployed six U.S.-made long-range ballistic missiles in an overnight strike in the Bryansk region of the country, according to multiple reports. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that if the reports are true that Washington approved the use of its weapons to strike Russia, it represents a "new spiral of tensions" with the United States, according to NPR reporting.

Peskov said Moscow's updated nuclear doctrine now "states that the Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression with the use of conventional weapons against it or the Republic of Belarus, which creates a critical threat to sovereignty or territorial integrity. Aggression against the Russian Federation by any non-nuclear state with the participation or support of a nuclear state is considered a joint attack," according to NBC News reporting.

On the Earnings Front:

Walmart (WMT  ) reported strong third-quarter earnings on Tuesday as raised its sales outlook as consumers purchased more discretionary merchandise during the quarter and started their holiday shopping early. The big box retailer now expects net sales to grow between 4.8% and 5.1% for its full year, from its previous range of 3.75% and 4.75%.

Notably, comparable sales rose 5.3% for Walmart and 7% at Sam's Club, excluding fuel. Customers also spent more in the U.S., with the country's transactions rising 3.1% and the average ticket increasing by 2.1% annually. Moreover, ecommerce sales jumped 22% in the U.S.

Lowe's (LOW  ) reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings on Tuesday benefiting from increased online sales and home improvement projects amongst consumers. Still, the retailer is now projecting an annual sales decline for its full year, expecting total sales of between $83 billion and $83.5 billion, from its previous guidance of $82.7 billion and $83.2 billion. Lowe's also expects comparable ales to decline 3% to 3.5%, from its prior outlook of 3.5% to 4%.

In Economic News:

Housing Data fell short of economist expectations in October, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, as climbing mortgage rates were met with a decline in activity throughout the month.

New construction of privately owned homes, also known as housing starts, totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.31 million units last month, declining by 3.1% from September and 4% below October 2023. Building permits totaled 1.42 million for October, representing a 0.6% decline month-over-month and decreasing 7.7% annually.

In the News:

Super Micro Computer (SMCI  ) shares jumped over 30% on Tuesday after the server maker announced BDO as its new auditor and submitted a plan to Nasdaq to regain compliance with the exchange -- securing its place on the index for now after its previous auditor Ernst & Young departed in October and the company remains late in filing its 2024 year-end report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Shares of H&R Block (HRB  ) and Intuit (INTU  ) dipped on Tuesday on reports that President-elect Donald Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency," is planning to develop a free tax-filing app, according to The Washington Post. Called DOGE, the advisory commission will be led by Tesla (TSLA  ) CEO Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and aims to reduce government spending on a broad scale.

Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery downgraded Kraft Heinz (KHC  ) on Tuesday to Neutral from Overweight and cut the firm's price target, citing potential headwinds from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination for Health and Human Services secretary under the Trump Administration.

"While RFK Jr. has yet to be confirmed as head of HHS (and it may be unlikely to happen), the possibility may add some risk to KHC," Lavery wrote in a note to clients. "RFK Jr. has indicated an interest in fighting 'ultra-processed' foods (and many in KHC's portfolio would seem to qualify) by restricting SNAP benefit spending to other, ostensibly healthy food items. KHC's portfolio over-indexes to SNAP exposure."

For Wednesday:

Market participants will turn their attention towards a series of Fedspeak on Wednesday, alongside earnings reports from companies including Target (TGT  ), TJX Companies (TJX  ) and NIO (NIO  ).