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Nvidia ( NVDA ) falls from record high with chip sector under

pressure

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) down after Q3 results

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Banks broadly gain after earnings

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Indexes down: Dow 0.54%, S&P 500 0.50%, Nasdaq 0.82%

(Updates prices at 2:06 p.m. EDT/1806 GMT)

By Sinéad Carew and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major stock indexes

slipped on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq leading declines as chip

stocks sold off on fears of weak demand while energy shares fell

with oil prices.

Earnings reports were also a mixed bag with mostly positive

reactions to financial services reports contrasting with a 7%

slump in shares of UnitedHealth ( UNH ) after the health insurer

forecast 2025 profit below Wall Street estimates.

The biggest drag on the Nasdaq came from Nvidia ( NVDA ),

the leading chip maker for artificial intelligence. Its shares

were down about 5% after a record-high close on Monday,

following a media report that the Biden administration is

considering capping AI chip exports by U.S. companies.

Chip stocks lost ground broadly after results of

chip-equipment-maker ASML Holdings showed downbeat

expectations for 2025 sales. ASML's U.S.-listed shares

dropped 17%, while the Philadelphia semiconductor index

fell 4.9%.

"The fact ASML slowed guidance means demand for all kind of

chips, with the exception of chips for generative AI, is rather

weak," said Irene Tunkel, chief us equity strategist at BCA

research. "Weak demand for chips indicates lower global growth.

It means global demand for pretty much everything is weak,"

Tunkel noted that defensive sectors were outperforming as

investors worried about global economic growth.

Also, the energy industry index fell 2.5%, as crude

prices fell on weaker demand expectations after a media report

suggested Israel would not strike Iranian oil targets.

Both the Dow and the S&P 500 registered record closing highs

in the previous session but after opening higher on Tuesday they

failed to maintain their gains.

At 2:06 p.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 234.68 points, or 0.54%, to 42,831.30, the S&P 500

lost 29.57 points, or 0.50%, to 5,830.28 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 151.01 points, or 0.82%, to 18,351.84.

Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at the Carson Group,

said investors were likely booking some profits after a thin

trading session on Monday, when bond markets were closed for a

holiday, as they looked ahead to key economic data and a

continued deluge of earnings over the next few weeks.

In the financial sector, Bank of America ( BAC ) rose 1.4%

following a third-quarter profit beat, while Charles Schwab ( SCHW )

soared 6.9% after beating estimates. However, Citigroup ( C/PN )

shares were down almost 5% after its results.

The broader Banks index rose 0.9% and was trading

at its highest level in more than two years, while an index of

regional banks gained 2.2%.

Bucking the trend of tech stock declines, Apple ( AAPL ) was

up about 1% after earlier touching a record high.

Also in individual stocks, Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA )

soared 12% after narrowly beating Wall Street's lowered

estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted profit and announcing

plans to shut 1,200 stores to cut costs.

Investors will watch in coming days for the next batch of

earnings as well as key economic data, including monthly retail

sales and industrial production figures.

Earlier on Tuesday, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly

said that even after September's interest-rate cut, policymakers

were still working to bring inflationary pressures down.

Traders are pricing in a roughly 90% chance the Fed will cut

interest rates by 25 basis points in November, according to

CME's FedWatch.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.48-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE where there were 466 new highs and 32 new lows.

On the Nasdaq, 2,345 stocks rose and 1,863 fell as advancing

issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.26-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500

posted 112 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq

Composite recorded 166 new highs and 66 new lows.