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Intuit gains after forecasting Q3 revenue above estimates

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Investors await Nvidia ( NVDA ) report after the bell

(Updates to close)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 ended little changed on Wednesday ahead of

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) quarterly results, which are expected to set the tone

for the artificial intelligence sector.

Stocks lost ground in afternoon trading, with investors

digesting the latest comments from U.S. President Donald Trump

on tariffs.

Trump said on Wednesday that his administration will

soon announce a 25% tariff on imports from the European Union.

He also raised hopes for another pause on steep new tariffs on

imports from Mexico and Canada by

saying they

would take effect on April 2, about a month later than a

deadline next week.

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

was also higher.

Gains in technology were offset by losses in

healthcare, consumer staples 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."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 1.33 points, or 0.02%, to end at 5,956.58 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 48.86 points, or

0.26%, at 19,075.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 175.82 points, or 0.40%, to 43,445.34.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results come near the end of a

stronger-than-expected earnings period for S&P 500 companies.

"It's been a pretty constructive earnings season," said

Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank.

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 report, have hinted that the

world's largest economy might be stalling despite inflation

remaining high, keeping investors on the edge.

Intuit shares rose 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)