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Indexes: Dow up 0.66%, S&P 500 up 0.05%, Nasdaq down 0.23%

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Boeing ( BA ) rises on Uzbekistan deal, potential China order

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Kenvue ( KVUE ) shares bounce, Trump's claims face pushback

(Updates after markets open)

By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 23 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Tuesday as the

recent tech-fueled rally took a breather, while investors

awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on the

economy amid conflicting signals from policymakers.

Powell's comments could be crucial to shaping interest

rate expectations at a time when the Fed's rate cut last week

has lifted equities and investors are hoping for further

reductions to sustain the rally.

Some officials argue for measured cuts going forward to keep

inflation in check. Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said

on Tuesday that if inflation cools off the central bank has some

space to cut its interest rate target.

"The market is pricing two more cuts this year. That

could potentially be at risk if there is a little bit of a

hawkish tilt this week, especially from Powell," said Charlie

Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment

Management.

At 10:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 306.42 points, or 0.66%, to 46,687.96, the S&P 500

gained 3.43 points, or 0.05%, to 6,697.18 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 52.76 points, or 0.23%, to 22,734.72.

The S&P 500 financials sector hit a record high and

was last up 0.9%, while energy companies rose 2.3%. The

gains helped the benchmark index hit an intraday all-time high.

Losses in Nvidia ( NVDA ), which slipped 2.2% after

hitting an intraday record high in the previous session, and

Amazon.com ( AMZN ), down 2.3%, weighed on the Nasdaq.

Technology stocks fell 0.5% on the S&P 500.

Gains in Boeing ( BA ) and banks such as Goldman Sachs ( GS )

and JPMorgan ( JPM ) boosted the Dow to hit an intraday

record high.

Boeing ( BA ) gained 3.4% after securing an order from

Uzbekistan Airways worth over $8 billion, while talks for a

Chinese order were ongoing.

A September reading of S&P Global's flash manufacturing PMI

fell to 52 from 53 in August.

Part of Wall Street's resilience in September, a

historically weak month for equities, can be traced to strength

in technology stocks and renewed optimism around artificial

intelligence-linked trading.

Some analysts have, however, raised concerns of stretched

stock valuations. Others argued that markets could sustain their

current multiples if the upcoming earnings season passes without

any red flags.

"An accommodative Fed and an economy that accelerates

into 2026 should allow the market to maintain its current

multiple, leaving earnings growth to drive continued U.S. equity

gains," Goldman Sachs ( GS ) analysts wrote in a note.

During the past 40 years, the S&P 500 has generated a

15% median 12-month return when the Fed resumed cutting rates

against a backdrop of continued economic growth.

However, uncertainty around the Trump administration's

policy continues to pose risks. Kenvue ( KVUE ), the maker of

popular pain medication Tylenol, rose 3.9% but is yet to fully

recover from a 7.5% plunge on Monday when the U.S. president

linked autism to childhood vaccine use and the taking of Tylenol

by women when pregnant.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.84-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and eight new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 109 new highs and 21

new lows.