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Intuit gains after forecasting Q3 revenue above estimates

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Investors await Nvidia ( NVDA ) report after the bell

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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 ( NVDA ) quarterly results, which are expected to

set the tone

for the artificial intelligence sector.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) shares rose 2.9%, while an index of

semiconductors was 1.6% higher.

Gains in technology were offset by losses in

healthcare and other sectors.

All eyes will be on AI-leader Nvidia's ( NVDA ) 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 ( NVDA ) 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 lost 5.66 points, or 0.10%, at

5,949.59 points, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.74

points to 19,027.13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 178.60 points, or 0.41%, to 43,442.56.

UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) shares dropped 1.7%. On Tuesday, U.S. Senator

Chuck Grassley requested detailed information on UnitedHealth's ( UNH )

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 shares rose 12.4% after the TurboTax maker

forecast third-quarter revenue above Street estimates.

(Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Richard Chang)