By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 eked out a gain Thursday after losing ground going into the close, but downside momentum was kept in check by a chip-fueled rise in tech and strength in materials.   

It rose by 0.06% and fell 0.4% (158 points), while the Nasdaq gained 0.5%.

Materials were pushed higher by a rise in Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (NYSE:) and Nucor (NYSE:) in the face of rising metal prices, and new demand for stocks that provide a hedge against inflation.

Energy also benefited the most, despite a decline in oil prices. This was because investors continue to be supportive of the sector amid the expectation that spending by major oil companies will fall.

“We’re overweight energy,”  Sean O’Hara, president of Pacer ETFs, told Investing.com in an interview on Wednesday. “All the money that would have been invested in capex is going to go straight to [energy firms’]The bottom line is the most important, and this’s where you will find real energy tailwinds.”

Tech recovered some of the losses it suffered a day before, thanks to a Nvidia-led increase in chip stock prices.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:) rose more than 3% after Susquehanna raised its price target on the stock to $360.00 from $250.00) ahead of the chipmaker’s third-quarter results due Nov. 17.

“From a high level, we expect another beat-and-raise driven by continued strong GPU demand and (modest) share gains in the quarter,” Susquehanna said.

Big tech gave up gains to end in the red, with Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:), Apple (NASDAQ:), and Amazon (NASDAQ:) closing in the red, but Meta, formerly known as Facebook (NASDAQ:) ended the day just above the flatline. 

Stocks of large-cap Chinese technology stocks, including Alibaba JD (NASDAQ:) and (NYSE:).com both saw gains, as they are likely to have received benefits from Singles Day Online Shopping Bonanzas in China.

The earnings side of things Disney Following disappointing quarterly results, Beyond Meat was in the limelight.

Walt Disney (NYSE) posted fiscal fourth quarter earnings and revenue, which fell below Wall Street’s expectations due to slowing Disney+ subscriber growth.

Wall Street believes that Disney+ subscription growth has reached saturation. This will cause disappointment.

Atlantic Equities reduced the price of its stock from $219 to $172 by saying that Disney’s emphasis on franchises had led to high sign-ups. However, we believe the market penetration is near saturation in the launched markets.”

Beyond Meat’s (NASDAQ:), reported a greater than expected loss at 87 cents per share. It sent its shares down over 13%.

The Bumble (NASDAQ): plunged 19%, after reporting a surprise loss of 3Q. Payed users additions came in short of Wall Street estimates.

Also, Rivian Automobile (NASDAQ:) Added to Wednesday’s debut-day gains, the stock rose 22% on its second trading day.