Dow, S&P 500 slip as oil hovers near $100 despite Nasdaq’s record close

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U.S. stock indexes Dow and S&P 500 declined slightly as oil prices hovered near $100 per barrel, while Nasdaq closed at a record high propelled by gains in AI-related chip stocks. Investors are cautious amid Middle East conflict risks and an upcoming US-China summit potentially addressing AI regulation.

The Dow and S&P 500 slipped on Tuesday as oil prices held near $100 a barrel while gains in Micron Technology and other AI-related stocks lifted the Nasdaq to a record close, Reuters reported.The S&P 500 fell 0.43 points, or 0.01%, to 7,764.27 points while the Nasdaq Composite rose 121.15 points, or 0.45%, to 27,243.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 184.94 points, or 0.36%, to 51,863.89.Chip stocks extended their recent gains while shares of consumer-focused software companies declined as investors assessed the strong response to Meta Platforms’ new AI assistant.The assistant, called Muse, launched earlier this month can send emails and carry out transactions on a user’s behalf. Its early success lifted AI-related chip stocks in recent sessions, but it also sparked concerns that the technology could disrupt retailers, online brokerages and other consumer businesses. Amazon blocked Muse from shopping on its platform on Monday.“There are a lot of tech stocks that are down today on Muse-related fears of one sort or another,” Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, told Reuters. “People fear that Muse will be used to manage your insurance relationships, book your travel and search for stuff to buy.”Uber Technologies and Lyft fell about 1% each, while Expedia dropped 4% and Charles Schwab slid 5.5%. Micron gained 3.9%, and SanDisk surged 7.2%.Oil prices were choppy near $100 a barrel, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hovered around 4.94% after US President Donald Trump warned in a speech to the UN General Assembly that he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic" if no deal is reached to end the Middle East conflict.Investors also turned their attention to Thursday’s US-China summit amid speculation that the trade truce with Beijing could be extended and that the talks may include AI regulation.“What people are looking for is at least the start of a conversation that maybe you can come up with some sort of global framework as opposed to fighting each other and having this race and so,” said Joe Saluzzi, head of equity market structure research at Themis Trading.JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both lost ground.Meanwhile, Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins said she supported last week’s interest-rate increase because of inflation risks. New York Fed President John Williams said the Fed’s framework for managing short-term rates had effectively supported financial markets.Traders saw a 53% probability that the central bank would raise interest rates by at least 25 basis points in October, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.(Disclaimer: This article is based on inputs from agencies. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)