US tech stocks regained their footing on Tuesday as a sell-off in chip stocks underscored concerns about AI circular financing deals, countering a drop in oil prices and earnings optimism.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) bounced back from earlier losses to hover near the flat line. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose nearly 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed 1.2% as investors weighed the latest quarterly results.
Stocks generally moved higher as the earnings deluge continued. Boeing (BA), PayPal (PYPL), and Coca-Cola (KO) all rose after reporting results, with Coca-Cola stock on track for its best day since 2009. Investors will be watching SK Hynix’s results due around 8 p.m. ET for insight into the memory trade as AI worries swirl.
That helped offset souring sentiment in the chip sector amid reports that Nvidia (NVDA) is exploring a $250 billion funding backstop for OpenAI (OPAI.PVT), further intertwining the two companies and heightening worries about circular financing. Tech traders also grew nervous that Chinese competition is narrowing the AI gap with US companies, undermining prospects for a payoff.
Oil prices, meanwhile, continued to retreat after the US and Iran halted active fighting and President Trump said the two sides were in diplomatic talks. “There’s a good chance that something could happen, and if it does, good,” Trump said aboard Air Force One on Monday. “If it doesn’t, we go back to doing what we were doing.”
The Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, and it’s one of the hardest policy decisions for the market to call in years. Traders’ bets skew toward the Fed holding rates steady at the end of its meeting on Wednesday, but there isn’t conviction, and a rate hike could be on the table.
US consumer confidence ticked lower in July to 90.8, according to the Conference Board, as perceptions of the labor market softened.