US equities traded mixed on Tuesday morning as upbeat corporate earnings supported the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while a fresh wave of selling in semiconductor stocks weighed on the Nasdaq Composite.
At around 9:32 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 298.33 points, or 0.57%, at 52,508.41, extending gains after stronger-than-expected earnings from Sherwin-Williams and Coca-Cola boosted investor sentiment. The S&P 500 slipped 9.14 points, or 0.12%, to 7,404.04, while the Nasdaq Composite declined as weakness in chipmakers continued to pressure the technology-heavy index.
The mixed start follows a volatile session on Monday, when the Dow climbed more than 260 points and the S&P 500 ended marginally higher, even as semiconductor stocks dragged the Nasdaq lower for a second straight session.
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Selling pressure remained concentrated in the chip sector. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell another 3%, with Micron and Western Digital each dropping about 5%. Seagate Technology and Astera Labs also traded lower, extending the sector's recent weakness. The ETF has now declined for three consecutive sessions after falling 3.3% on Monday.
Earlier in the day, futures had already pointed to a divergent opening. Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.7%, while S&P 500 futures edged 0.1% higher. Dow futures surged about 520 points, or 1%, as investors cheered earnings from Coca-Cola and Sherwin-Williams.
The caution in technology shares comes ahead of one of the busiest earnings weeks of the season, with Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Apple all scheduled to report. Investors are closely watching whether the tech giants maintain their aggressive spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure, a key driver of demand for semiconductor companies.
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Meanwhile, investors also tracked developments in the energy market after Iran held talks with officials from Saudi Arabia and Oman on reopening shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices extended Monday's sharp losses, with Brent crude falling 1.7% to $86.82 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) slipped 1.6% to $81.31.
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