US STOCKS-Nasdaq trails S&P 500, Dow as AI growth worries hit tech stocks

MIDDLE EAST STALEMATE WEIGHS ON SENTIMENT The U.S.-Iran war remains an overhang on ⁠equities, shaping market sentiment even during the busiest week of the corporate earnings season this quarter. Meanwhile, investors are also scrutinizing earnings from a bunch ⁠of corporate giants on Tuesday. United Parcel Service lost 4.4% after the logistics firm reported a sharp drop in quarterly adjusted profit.

The ‌Nasdaq ​Composite fell on Tuesday, underperforming the benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow, after a report that said OpenAI had missed its internal revenue target raised fresh concerns about the AI spending spree.

The Wall Street Journal reported that AI heavyweight OpenAI had missed internal targets for weekly users and revenue, ‌and executives had raised concerns over the ChatGPT parent's ability to support its massive spending on data centers. Although OpenAI is privately held, its fortunes are closely tied to several major technology stocks. Its financial performance is often viewed as a gauge of AI demand and could have wide-ranging implications for public equity markets.

Shares of Oracle, whose reliance on OpenAI for its cloud computing ambitions has been under scrutiny, fell 4.1%. Chip stocks also ‌dropped, with Nvidia, AMD and Arm Holdings down 3.5%, 5% and 8.8%, respectively. Nvidia-backed CoreWeave slid 6.2%.

"Any misstep involving AI-related demand or capital budget expenditures from one of the four Magnificent 7 ‌companies reporting Wednesday could easily give this market second thoughts about how far it has run in the past month," wrote Dennis Follmer, chief investment officer at Montis Financial. Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet are among several companies reporting results on Wednesday.

At 11:49 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 357.34 points, or 1.44%, to 24,529.76. The S&P 500 slipped 55.80 points, or 0.78%, to 7,118.11, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60.16 points, or 0.12%, to 49,227.01. The S&P 500 information technology sector slipped 2.2%, the biggest ⁠laggard on ​the benchmark. Six of the eleven major S&P sectors were ⁠in the red.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index dropped 4.7% and was on course for its second day of losses after an 18-day winning streak during which it gained 47.2%. MIDDLE EAST STALEMATE WEIGHS ON SENTIMENT

The U.S.-Iran war remains an overhang on ⁠equities, shaping market sentiment even during the busiest week of the corporate earnings season this quarter. There are mounting concerns that the impasse in negotiations could keep oil prices elevated for longer. A U.S. official said President Donald Trump was ​unhappy with the latest Iranian proposal on resolving the conflict in the Middle East, pouring cold water on hopes for a deal that had sent the S&P 500, the Nasdaq 100, ⁠and the Nasdaq Composite to record highs in recent days.

"If the diplomatic and military stalemate between the U.S. and Iran continues, and the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, policymakers and market participants will find it increasingly difficult to keep 'looking through' the crisis," said Jonas ⁠Goltermann, ​chief markets economist at Capital Economics. In a fresh blow to oil exporting countries, the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it was quitting the oil producers' group OPEC.

Oil prices are 53% higher than pre-war levels as the crucial shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted. Brent crude futures topped $110 a barrel for the first time in three weeks. Meanwhile, investors are also scrutinizing earnings from a bunch ⁠of corporate giants on Tuesday.

United Parcel Service lost 4.4% after the logistics firm reported a sharp drop in quarterly adjusted profit. General Motors lifted its full-year earnings forecast on a resilient U.S. car ⁠market and an expected tariff refund. Shares of the automaker ⁠were down 2.6%, trimming losses after a 4.1% drop earlier.

Coca-Cola climbed 6.1% after the beverage giant lifted its annual adjusted profit forecast. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.61-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.77-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted three new 52-week highs and 13 ‌new lows while the Nasdaq Composite ‌recorded 80 new highs and 77 new lows.