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Indexes: Dow down 0.14%, S&P 500 down 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.07

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Salesforce ( CRM ) rises after strong revenue forecast

(Updates with midday prices)

By Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit

Oct 16 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Thursday, as

financial companies dragged while chip stocks extended their

rally following a strong quarterly update from TSMC that

reinforced investor optimism around AI.

TSMC raised its full-year revenue forecast on

a bullish outlook for spending on artificial intelligence.

U.S.-listed shares of the world's biggest producer of advanced

chips fell 1.6% after rising more than 2% premarket.

Shares of some major U.S. chipmakers also advanced, building

on gains from Wednesday when ASML's solid quarterly

results and a $40 billion data center deal by BlackRock and a

Nvidia ( NVDA )-backed group fueled optimism around AI.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 1%, Micron Technology ( MU ) added 5.6%

and Broadcom ( AVGO ) gained 1.1%. The S&P 500 tech sector

rose 0.4%.

Salesforce ( CRM ) rose 4.1% as it forecast revenue of more

than $60 billion for 2030, above Wall Street estimates.

"The Nasdaq is having a pretty good day, being driven higher

by the semiconductors and the software side of things," said

Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon

Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"There has been some concern about the potential for AI to

automate software functions and so I think the market is

unwinding some of those concerns today."

The AI-driven momentum and optimism around U.S. interest

rate cuts have helped markets in recent months.

Robust earnings from major U.S. banks also grabbed attention

this week, offering fresh signs of economic resilience at a time

when official macroeconomic reports remain delayed due to an

ongoing government shutdown.

At 11:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 63.60 points, or 0.14%, to 46,189.71, the S&P 500

lost 6.93 points, or 0.10%, to 6,664.13 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 16.33 points, or 0.07%, to 22,686.41.

The S&P 500 financials index declined 1.3%. The S&P

500 insurance index dropped 3.3% to an over two-month

low. Insurers Travelers and Marsh & Mclennan ( MMC )

reported quarterly results and fell 3% and 6.3%, respectively.

Meanwhile, investors were awaiting developments on the

U.S.-China trade front after tensions resurfaced on Friday over

China's rare earth export curbs.

China accused the U.S. on Thursday of stoking panic over its

rare earth controls and rejected a White House call to roll back

the curbs.

Top U.S. officials on Wednesday had called the controls a

threat to global supply chains, while stressing that Washington

did not want to escalate the conflict.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however,

emphasized on Wednesday that Trump was ready to meet his Chinese

counterpart in South Korea later this month.

Data showed the Philadelphia Fed Business Index for

October declined 12.8, compared with a rise of 8.5 estimated by

the economists polled by Reuters.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he supported an

additional interest rate cut

in October due to mixed readings on the state of the job

market.

Among other moves, Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE )

slumped 10.5% after it forecast annual profit and revenue below

Wall Street expectations.

J.B. Hunt shares jumped 19.3% after a

higher

third-quarter profit.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.04-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.43-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and nine new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 103 new highs and 56 new

lows.