Intuit gains after forecasting Q3 revenue above estimates
Investors await Nvidia report after the bell
Indexes: Dow down 0.4%, S&P 500 down 0.1%, Nasdaq flat%
Updates to afternoon
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday ahead of Nvidia's quarterly results, which are expected to set the tone for the artificial intelligence sector.
Nvidia's shares rose 2.9%, while an index of semiconductors .SOX was 1.6% higher.
Gains in technology .SPLRCT were offset by losses in healthcare .SPXHC and other sectors.
All eyes will be on AI-leader Nvidia's results and comments after the market's close.
The launch and popularity of low-cost AI models from China's DeepSeek had rattled the industry in January and raised questions around U.S. companies' heavy investments in the technology.
Any upbeat comments by Nvidia on demand will elevate stocks of companies investing heavily in AI, said Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust in Atlanta. "It's become the biggest tech report."
The S&P 500 .SPX lost 5.66 points, or 0.10%, at 5,949.59 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 0.74 points to 19,027.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 178.60 points, or 0.41%, to 43,442.56.
UnitedHealth's shares dropped 1.7%. On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley requested detailed information on UnitedHealth's UNH.N Medicare billing practices in a letter to CEO Andrew Witty.
A Reuters poll showed strategists still expect the S&P 500 to finish 2025 about 9% above current levels, although market volatility will persist.
Since last week, a series of data releases, including Tuesday's weak consumer sentiment print, have hinted that the world's largest economy might be stalling despite inflation remaining high, keeping investors on the edge.
Intuit INTU.O shares rose 12.4% after the TurboTax maker forecast third-quarter revenue above Street estimates.
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(Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Richard Chang)
((caroline.valetkevitch@thomsonreuters.com))
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