US stocks whipsawed Thursday as investors digested Nvidia's (NVDA) earnings and a tumble from Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) amid a Department of Justice move to break up its empire. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) led the way higher,

"There were some warning signs from Target, but if you look at personal income and retail sales, they have been strong all year," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, in an interview. "That suggests the consumer has buying power."

Nvidia earnings hit after the close. Investors are buckling up for a busy stretch. Looking at the chip maker’s results since 2014, the trading session after the release has typically proven lucrative,

Target’s stock was down more than 20% in afternoon trading, compared with a 0.6% decline for the S&P 500 index, according to FactSet data, at last check. The S&P 500’s consumer-staples sector was slumping 0.4% on Wednesday afternoon.

Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the market on track for its fifth gain in a row. The S&P 500 was up 0.1% and is solidly on track for a weekly gain that will erase most of last week's loss.

Fundstrat's Tom Lee called Nvidia's earnings release a "clearing event" for the stock market and that investors' "animal spirits" are rising.