By Johann M Cherian and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
Sept 22 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq hit an intraday record high on Tuesday, underpinned by gains in heavyweight technology stocks and potential negotiations over the Iran conflict, while declines in big banks limited broader market gains.
Investors pinned their hopes on comments from Iran and U.S. officials reviving negotiations to end their conflict, while Saudi Arabia also restarted operations at its East-West Pipeline, easing some concerns about oil supply.
Still, President Donald Trump, in his United Nations General Assembly speech, said he could "annihilate the Islamic Republic", suggesting tensions could flare up anytime.
Oil prices were choppy near $100 a barrel, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note hovered at 4.9% - both near levels that have weighed on markets in recent days.
The focus is also on a U.S.-China summit on Thursday, with traders hoping the trade truce with Beijing could be extended and talks could touch upon AI regulation.
"What people are looking for is at least the start of a conversation that maybe you can come up with some sort of global framework as opposed to fighting each other and having this race and so," said Joe Saluzzi, head of equity market structure research at Themis Trading.
At 12:06 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 290.64 points, or 0.56%, to 51,769.52, the S&P 500 lost 4.68 points, or 0.06%, to 7,760.02 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 63.68 points, or 0.24%, to 27,185.77.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors gained in choppy trading, with materials leading with a 1% rise. Technology stocks edged up with Apple up about 1%.
Meta edged up 0.9% and added to Monday's 11% jump as investors bet on its new AI agent Muse that analysts said could open a new revenue stream for the social media giant.
BANKS TAKE A DIVE
The S&P 500 financials sector led sectoral declines with a 2% fall. Big lenders such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo were down nearly 4% each.
Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, pointed to comments earlier this month by top bosses in the sector hinting at earnings and revenues growing softer than the quarter before.
On the policy front, Boston Fed President Susan Collins wrote she supported last week’s central bank interest rate increase amid the risks that future inflation will be above its 2% target.
New York Fed President John Williams said the Fed's framework for controlling short-term rates has been effective in supporting financial markets.
Traders see a 53.1% chance the central bank will increase interest rates by at least 25 basis points in October, following this month's hike, the CME Group's FedWatch Tool showed.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.04-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.1-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 8 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 80 new lows.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das and Devika Syamnath)
