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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) gains on Q1 profit beat

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell to speak at 1:15 pm ET

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Indexes: Dow up 0.23%, S&P down 0.26%, Nasdaq down 0.30%

(Updated at 9:48 a.m. ET/1348 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A

April 16 (Reuters) -

The Dow Jones Industrial Average outshone its peers on

Tuesday following upbeat results from health insurer

UnitedHealth ( UNH ), while higher Treasury yields and conflict in the

Middle East kept investors on edge.

Dow Component UnitedHealth Group advanced 5.9% after

the health insurer beat expectations for first-quarter adjusted

profit.

Other health insurers such as Humana, CVS Health ( CVS )

and Centene ( CNC ) gained between 0.3% and 1.2%.

Morgan Stanley ( MS )

added 2.4% after beating first quarter profit

estimates, fueled by a resurgence in investment banking.

"The early morning earnings reports were good. But more

than that, the market is just searching for a bottom from its

recent sell off," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane

Investments.

"The broader market rally was really tied to a view of lower

rates. And at least for now, that seems to be gone and there's

more individual stock picking based on results more than just

index buying."

Meanwhile, Israel's war cabinet was set to meet for the

third time in three days, an official said, to decide on a

response to Iran's first-ever direct attack, amid international

pressure to avoid further escalation in conflicts in the Middle

East.

The gains were, however, kept in check as the yield on

the 10-year government bond hit fresh five-month

highs, a day after data showed U.S. retail sales increased more

than expected in March amid a surge in receipts at online

retailers, further indicating a solid first quarter for the U.S.

economy.

Several policymakers including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell are slated to speak later in the day, and investors will

be watching for clues on where the central bank stands on policy

easing.

Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said "it will be appropriate

to hold in place the current restrictive stance of policy for

longer" if inflation fails to slow as expected.

U.S. equities have sold off recently as investors sharply

readjusted their expectations of how much the Fed would cut

rates this year, with bets now showing only around 42 basis

points of expected easing, according to LSEG data. This is down

from about 150 bps seen at the start of the year.

Rate-sensitive real estate and utilities

led sectoral declines, down around 1% each.

At 9:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was

up 87.56 points, or 0.23%, at 37,822.67, the S&P 500 was

down 13.26 points, or 0.26%, at 5,048.56, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 47.18 points, or 0.30%, at 15,837.84.

Among other stocks, Tesla shed 3.7% after falling

over 5% in the last session, when an internal memo seen by

Reuters showed the EV marker was laying off more than 10% of its

global workforce.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) slipped 2.0% as the drugmaker's

first-quarter revenue missed analysts' estimates after sales

from its blockbuster psoriasis drug, Stelara, fell short of

expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 5.70-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and for a 3.50-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and six new

lows, while the Nasdaq recorded nine new highs and 189 new lows.