Wall Street ended higher Tuesday, as chip stocks surged on renewed AI optimism, Moderna rallied, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record high — rallying by nearly 500 points past the 49,000 milestone.

Moderna jumped after BofA Global Research raised its price target on the drugmaker, helping lift the S&P 500 healthcare index.

Memory and storage technology stocks rallied after Nvidia CEO Jensen ‍Huang, speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, gave details about upcoming AI processors ‍that include a new layer of storage technology.

SanDisk, Western Digital, Seagate Technology and Micron Technology all hit record highs.

The PHLX chip index also hit an all-time high, bringing its gain in the ⁠first three trading sessions of 2026 to about 8%.

"I think we're going to have a very strong earnings season for Big Tech, and all those capex estimates that we hear about are going to be revised higher ​again," said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital in St. Louis.

Investors are looking forward to reliable economic data as the effects of a record 43-day federal government shutdown wear off, and upcoming releases include the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) on Wednesday and Friday’s jobs ‍report for December. Weaker-than-expected employment data could strengthen the case for central bank interest rate cuts.

Heading into fourth-quarter earnings season in ⁠the next few weeks, valuations on Wall Street remain relatively pricey.

The S&P 500 is trading at about 22 times expected earnings, down from 23 in November, but above the index's five-year average of 19, according to LSEG data.

The Dow neared a historic 50,000 mark.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 42.92 points, or 0.61%, to end at 6,944.97 points, while the Nasdaq Composite ⁠gained 147.40 points, or 0.63%, to 23,543.22. The Dow ​Jones Industrial Average rose 489.12 points, or 1.00%, ⁠to 49,466.30.

Data on Tuesday showed S&P Global's final composite PMI slipped to 52.7 in December from 53.0 in the prior month, while the services PMI eased ‍to 52.5 from 52.9.

Markets also parsed comments from Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin, who reiterated the U.S. central bank's careful take on further cuts, in ‌contrast to Governor Stephen Miran's call for aggressive cuts in a Fox Business interview.

Investors brushed aside fears of broader geopolitical fallout after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over the weekend, betting the move could pave the way for U.S. firms ⁠to gain access ​to Venezuela's oil reserves.

Oil stocks dipped ‍after robust gains in the prior session, with giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron losing ground. Comments from Nvidia's Huang about the efficiency of the company's new chips raised concerns about demand for data center cooling systems.

Shares of Johnson Controls and Trane Technologies dropped. AIG shares tumbled after the insurance giant said CEO Peter Zaffino would step down.