U.S. stocks moved lower on Tuesday as investors parsed quarterly results from major banks, while technology shares faced added pressure after a sharp overnight sell-off in South Korea. The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 207 points, or 0.4%, giving back an earlier gain.
JPMorgan Chase reported third-quarter profit and revenue that missed analyst expectations. Its shares initially fell, then turned higher to trade up nearly 1% after the bank raised its 2026 net interest income guidance. Wells Fargo slipped 1% after mixed Q3 results, while Goldman Sachs edged higher as its third-quarter revenue topped expectations.
Rebecca Walser, chief investment officer at Walser Wealth Management, said the banks still posted strong numbers overall, but market expectations had been especially high. UnitedHealth shares also fell 1% even though the insurer’s results beat analyst estimates. According to FactSet, analysts on average expect S&P 500 profits to have grown by nearly 30% from a year earlier.
Memory-chip names came under heavier pressure after South Korea’s Kospi dropped 5.5%, hitting its lowest level since July 31. Investors have been weighing valuation concerns in the sector and rising competition from China. This week, China's CXMT said it plans to release a new, more powerful chip by year-end. Against that backdrop, SK hynix and Seagate Technology fell about 6%, Western Digital lost 7%, and Micron Technology and Sandisk dropped more than 5% and more than 4%, respectively.
Among individual movers, Apple rose 1% after unveiling its HomeView smart home hub, Meta Platforms gained more than 2% following the release of its Muse Wonder artificial intelligence model, and Bumble surged 56% after announcing an all-cash acquisition by Ithaca Holdings valuing the company at $1.3 billion. Separately, HSBC downgraded Adobe, warning that AI-assisted “vibe-coded clones” could weigh on the company’s sales.
