U.S. stocks flat amid decline in oil

The benchmark S&P 500 ended little changed at 7,763.26 points, the NASDAQ Composite jumped 0.5% to settle at 27,244.28 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4% to close at 51,863.80 points

U.S. stock market on Tuesday halted a stellar rally from the previous session with a flat to mixed performance, as a slide in financial stocks was offset by continued strength in the technology sector and muted oil prices.

Stocks had surged in the previous session, notching their best performance since August on the back of a rally in the artificial intelligence trade.

The benchmark S&P 500 ended little changed at 7,763.26 points, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite jumped 0.5% to settle at 27,244.28 points, notching a new record close. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4% to close at 51,863.80 points.

The AI trade has received a shot in the arm from optimism around Muse, Meta Platforms’ new AI model which has rapidly gained traction since its release earlier this month and is currently the top free app on the Apple App Store.

On AI, the narrative has shifted in recent days as a surge in Muse downloads sparks chatter that the product will cause personal agents to break through in the mainstream consumer market, although it’s unclear whether Meta can sustain its lead personal agent tools from others are already out, and its likely new ones will arrive soon in the coming weeks, Vital Knowledge’s Adam Crisafulli said.

Earlier, Kyodo News reported that Iran had offered to reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz within seven days in exchange for a U.S. military de-escalation.

Oil prices dipped on Tuesday, extending a sustained decline as market participants have taken heart from Saudi Arabia’s actions to offset the closure of the vital East-West Pipeline, which was damaged amid a widening conflict with Houthis in Yemen. The kingdom has taken steps such as ramping up east coast exports and allowing ship-to-ship transfers off the coast of Oman to make up for the lost capacity from the pipeline.

According to Kpler shipping data, six very large crude carriers loaded nearly 12 million barrels of oil at the eastern Saudi ports of Ras Tanura and Juaymah on Monday, underscoring how quickly crude flows were adapting to pressure around the Strait of Hormuz.

Watchers of geopolitics were also gearing up for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s closely watched trip to Washington on Thursday.

The two leaders are expected to cover a range of topics, including recent concerns around AI safety, as well as a possible extension to a temporary trade truce due to expire in November.