Chip stocks added to recent gains while consumer-related software shares lost ground.
Investors focused on the strong reception of Meta Platforms’ AI assistant, which launched this month and can send emails and complete transactions on behalf of a user.
The success of the AI assistant, called Muse, has fueled gains for AI-related chip stocks in recent days. Yet some worried it could compete with retailers, online brokerages and other consumer companies. Amazon on Monday blocked the agent from shopping on its platform.
“There are a lot of tech stocks that are down today on Muse-related fears of one sort or another,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “People fear that Muse will be used to manage your insurance relationships, book your travel and search for stuff to buy.”
Ride-hailing apps Uber Technologies and Lyft lost more than 1 percent each, while Charles Schwab lost 6.1 percent and Airbnb declined 3 percent. Micron rallied 5 percent and Sandisk gained almost 7 percent.
Oil prices were choppy near US$100 a barrel, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hovered around 4.94 percent 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 awaited a US-China summit on Thursday, with traders speculating the trade truce with Beijing could be extended and talks could touch on 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 …” said Joe Saluzzi, head of equity market structure research at Themis Trading.
The S&P 500 ended essentially flat at 7,764 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.5 percent to 27,244 points, its second straight record high close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.4 percent to 51,863 points.
Volume was heavy on US exchanges, with 17.9 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 16.3 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. (Reuters)
