Oct 16 (Reuters) - The Dow regained some lost ground on Wednesday although the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq stumbled, dragged lower by declines in megacap technology stocks, while the broader market gained from upbeat quarterly earnings from banks, notably Morgan Stanley.
Morgan Stanley (MS.N), rose 6.7%, joining peers such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), in reporting strong profits after a sharp increase in investment banking revenue.
First Horizon (FHN.N), gained 3.3% and U.S. Bancorp (USB.N), rose 5% after reporting third-quarter results.
The Financials sector (.SPSY), trended 0.7% higher, while the broader Banks (.SPXBK), index was up 1.1%. An index tracking regional banks (.KRX), rose 1.3%.
Gains on the benchmark index were kept in check by Communication Services (.SPLRCL), which fell 0.7%, weighed by Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab, which lost 1.5%.
Among other megacap stocks, Apple (AAPL.O), fell 1.4% after hitting a record high in the previous session, while Microsoft (MSFT.O), was off 1.3%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), rose 133.14 points, or 0.31%, to 42,872.78, the S&P 500 (.SPX), lost 5.00 points, or 0.08%, to 5,810.69, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), lost 71.98 points, or 0.39%, to 18,243.21.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index (.RUT), outperformed with a 0.83% gain.
"There has been a broadening out in terms of participation... in the small caps versus the large caps. That's a positive sign, some of it having to do with interest rates coming down and some relief on the balance sheet side for more highly levered smaller-cap companies," said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments.
Most semiconductor companies traded higher, with heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA.O), up 0.5% after slumping nearly 5% in the previous session.
However, U.S.-listed shares of chip equipment-maker ASML Holding (ASML.AS), lost 5.3% after the company cut its 2025 financial forecast on Tuesday. Intel (INTC.O), fell 3.3% after the Cybersecurity Association of China recommended initiating a review of the chipmaker's products sold in the country.
Declines in semiconductor and oil stocks dragged on Wall Street on Tuesday, as investors were assessing a mixed-bag of earnings. Still, the S&P 500 and the Dow were trading around record high levels.
"Generally speaking, bank earnings have been pretty well received by the market and that has been helpful for broad indices... you definitely need things other than tech to be working in order for that to continue," Hill said.
More corporate earnings are due through the week, along with key economic data including the retail sales and industrial production figures on Thursday, all of which are expected to shed light on consumer health and the growth outlook for the world's largest economy.
Bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut at the central bank's November meeting have risen above 90%, according to CME's FedWatch.
United Airlines (UAL.O), rose 8% after it forecast better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and announced a $1.5-billion share buyback program on Tuesday.
J.B. Hunt (JBHT.O), climbed 6.2% after beating third-quarter profit estimates on Tuesday after the bell.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.37-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.14-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 20 new lows.
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai
