Wall Street ends mixed in the face of mounting uncertainties

Consumer confidence posts biggest drop in 3-1/2 years

Nvidia dips ahead of Wednesday earnings

Lilly up on launching higher-dose, discounted Zepbound vials

(Updates to market close)

Feb 25 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks struggled on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touching one-month lows as a dour consumer confidence report put mounting economic uncertainties into sharp relief and prompted a selloff.

“This is clearly a risk-off day and a continuation of a risk-off month,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“Many companies are expressing caution about the direction of consumer spending at the moment and today’s consumer confidence number bears that out.”

The mood of the consumer, who props up about 70% of U.S. GDP, has dimmed considerably in February, according to The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, which registered its steepest monthly drop since August 2021.

Rising consumer uncertainties were laid bare by an 11.3% plunge in the near-term expectations component, well below the level associated with impending recession, suggesting Americans are growing anxious about the potential negative economic impact of the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Tuz said the political environment was not helping.

“Headlines have been pretty dramatic … and as a result consumers and maybe businesses are sitting on their hands to see how things shake out before making major purchasing decisions or other business decisions,” Tuz said.

“There are just lots of reasons to put off buying things today, including stocks.”

Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin said on Tuesday that current uncertainties call for a measured, cautious approach to monetary policy.

Interest-rate futures imply the U.S. Federal Reserve will hold its key interest rate steady for the first half of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The CBOE market volatility index, widely known as the “fear index,” spiked to its highest level since January 27.

The S&P 500 lost 27.33 points, or 0.46%, to end at 5,955.92 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 257.37 points, or 1.33%, to 19,029.56. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 161.74 points, or 0.37%, to 43,622.95.

Nvidia dropped ahead of the chipmaker’s much-anticipated quarterly earnings report expected after the bell on Wednesday, pulling the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index lower.

U.S. officials, in a bid to restrict Beijing’s technological capabilities, are aiming to restrict the quantity and types of Nvidia chips that can be exported to China without a license, according to a Bloomberg report.

Bitcoin weakness weighed on crypto stocks Coinbase and MicroStrategy.

Zoom Communications slid following its disappointing annual revenue forecast.

U.S.-listed shares of Li Auto jumped after the company unveiled its first electric SUV.

Eli Lilly advanced after the drugmaker said it has begun selling higher doses of its weight-loss drug Zepbound in vials in the U.S., at a discount to the injector-pen versions.

Solventum jumped after drug manufacturer Thermo Fisher said it will buy the company’s purification and filtration business for about $4.1 billion.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Nia Williams)