US STOCKS-Wall Street edges up as tech stocks settle after sell-off

By Twesha Dikshit and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes inched higher on Wednesday, as technology stocks steadied following a sell-off in the previous session, while a stronger-than-expected private payrolls report did little to alter expectations of a rate cut in December.

The ADP employment report showed U.S. private payrolls rebounded sharply in October, calming some jitters around a weakening labor market, after which stock futures pared most losses.

"While the report was better-than-expected, it was far from showing blistering growth," said Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro.

"The big question is whether investors will find relief in these numbers or if they'll be disappointed in what it may mean for the Fed's December rate decision."

Many tech stocks that were part of Tuesday's sell-off after warnings of a market pullback by U.S. bank CEOs and bearish views from hedge funds on the AI trade bounced back.

Nvidia NVDA.O gained 0.7%, while Broadcom AVGO.O was up 3.2%. The broader information technology sector .SPLRCT gained 0.5%, after falling over 2% on Tuesday.

Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O, which announced an upbeat forecast on Tuesday, reversed premarket declines to trade flat.

The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX recently trading at 23.3 times forward earnings, which is its highest since the start of the century and well above its 20-year average of 16, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Financial stocks .SPSY fell 0.1%. Bank of America BAC.N shares slipped 2.9% even as the second-largest lender in the U.S. raised its profitability target.

McDonald's MCD.N rose 3.3%, lifting the Dow, after the company beat estimates for third-quarter global comparable sales.

There was little reaction in stocks after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was elected as mayor of New York City.

At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 109.06 points, or 0.23%, to 47,188.36, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 18.62 points, or 0.27%, to 6,790.17 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 105.87 points, or 0.45%, to 23,454.51.

Meanwhile, a Supreme Court hearing on the legality of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs is scheduled for later in the day.

China said it would suspend retaliatory tariffs on U.S. imports following last week's meeting between the countries' leaders, while 10% levies would be maintained with imports of U.S. soybeans facing a 13% rate.

Investors and the Fed will also focus on private data with the U.S. government shutdown becoming the longest in history.

The Institute of Management Supply's gauge for non-manufacturing activity came in at 52.4 in October, compared with estimates of 50.8 according to economists polled by Reuters.

Eli Lilly LLY.N gained 2.6%. The company's Danish rival Novo Nordisk lowered its fiscal-year profit and sales forecast.

Health insurer Humana HUM.N slipped 9.5% after its third-quarter results, while Johnson Controls JCI.N was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 after it forecast 2026 profit above expectations.

Super Micro Computer SMCI.O slumped 7.7% after the server maker posted quarterly profit and revenue below Wall Street estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.68-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.49-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and 9 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 97 new lows.