US close: Stocks finish mixed despite strong bank earnings

(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mixed on Tuesday despite a barrage of strong earnings from some banking heavyweights as the focus was firmly fixed on trade tensions and comments from the head of the Federal Reserve.

The Dow pushed into positive territory by the close, rising 0.4%; the S&P 500 erased earlier losses by the afternoon but slipped back 0.2% into the red; while the Nasdaq finished 0.8% down, having tanked 2.1% in early deals.

"Despite some glittering headline numbers from the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, Wall Street hasn't been in a celebratory mood. This comes as concerns about building trade tensions with China have forced investors to shun risks," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

After warning of higher duties on Chinese imports last week, sparking Wall Street's steepest sell-off in six months, president Donald Trump moved to ease tensions in recent days, saying the US "wants to help China, not hurt it."

But Beijing's retaliatory move to restrict operations of five US subsidiaries of South Korea's Hanwha Ocean - following Washington's probes into the Chinese shipping industry - underscored the persistence of friction between the two powers.

"President Trump's more conciliatory tone over the weekend hinted at a willingness to avoid the looming 100% tariffs, but Beijing's response has underscored its determination to assert leverage in negotiations. Rare earths remain the key battleground," said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.

Nevertheless, reports that the two sides were due to meet saw stocks bounce off their lows around lunchtime. Buying was helped by comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell who hinted that more interest-rate cuts were on the cards.

"If we move too quickly, then we may leave the inflation job unfinished and have to come back later and finish it. If we move too slowly, there may be unnecessary losses, painful losses, in the employment market. So we're in the difficult situation of balancing those two things," he said.

Bank earnings in full swing

Wells Fargo surged after reporting stronger-than-expected third-quarter results. The bank's net income rose to $5.59bn, or $1.66 per share, from $5.11bn a year earlier, with revenue up 5% to $21.44bn. It was the lender's first full quarter free from the $1.95trn asset cap imposed after its fake-accounts scandal, allowing it to lift its medium-term return on tangible common equity target to 17% to 18%.

Goldman Sachs fell despite reporting a 37% surge in third-quarter profits to $4.10bn. Net revenues rallied 20% to $15.18bn, fuelled by strong demand for its core investment banking and trading services.

JPMorgan Chase fell despite a 12% rise in quarterly profit to $14.4bn, supported by a 16% increase in investment-banking fees. Revenue climbed 9% to $47.1bn, topping estimates, though earnings per share eased from the previous quarter.

Citi was in demand after third-quarter net income jumped 16% to $3.8bn. Revenues were $22.1bn, up on last year's $20.2bn and comfortably in line with expectations.

BlackRock gained after announcing record assets under management of $13.5trn and $205bn in net inflows during the quarter, driven by strong demand for its iShares ETFs and private-market products. Adjusted earnings of $11.55 per share beat forecasts, although net income fell 19% due to acquisition-related expenses.

General Motors rose after warning it would take a $1.6bn charge as it scales back its electric-vehicle ambitions following US policy shifts that ended a key $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers. The automaker said the removal of subsidies and looser emissions rules were likely to slow adoption rates.

Oracle fell but Advanced Micro Devices advanced after the two companies unveiled an expanded partnership to develop a large-scale AI supercluster. The first phase, deploying 50,000 GPUs via Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, is set to launch in 2026 as demand for high-capacity AI systems accelerates.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $107.21 4.98%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $527.47 4.50%

American Express Co. (AXP) $332.85 3.01%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $21.92 2.33%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $387.72 2.20%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $40.55 2.01%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $275.64 1.95%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $304.56 1.48%

Visa Inc. (V) $348.38 1.48%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $149.16 1.13%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $239.77 -3.61%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $770.76 -2.04%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $302.08 -1.91%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $84.70 -1.17%

Boeing Co. (BA) $214.30 -0.58%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $276.15 -0.39%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $190.85 -0.03%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $294.16 0.00%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.63 0.00%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $68.88 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) $84.56 7.15%

Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $125.71 5.42%

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $59.24 5.00%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $107.21 4.98%

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $33.42 4.76%

Edison International (EIX) $56.07 4.51%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $527.47 4.50%

HP Inc (HPQ) $28.54 4.35%

Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $61.27 4.34%

Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $67.02 3.92%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $138.79 -5.87%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $113.13 -4.82%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $91.00 -4.24%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $239.77 -3.61%

Humana Inc. (HUM) $261.61 -3.46%

Mosaic Company (MOS) $29.95 -3.36%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $187.06 -2.96%

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $299.00 -2.93%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $770.76 -2.04%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $302.08 -1.91%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $223.08 3.45%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $116.11 3.19%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $266.23 2.90%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $572.76 2.69%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $68.61 2.17%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $12.47 2.13%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $29.99 1.97%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $229.42 1.94%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $91.06 1.90%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.35 1.61%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $113.13 -4.82%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $119.94 -4.60%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $91.00 -4.24%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $187.06 -2.96%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $32.71 -1.62%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $429.24 -1.53%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $335.94 -1.00%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $443.76 -0.95%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $70.14 -0.86%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,157.82 -0.83%