US stocks drift as Nvidia leads gains for tech

NEW YORK AP U S stocks are drifting following various mixed statistics on inflation and profits at specific of the biggest U S banks The S P was up in early trading Tuesday close to the all-time high set on Thursday The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down points or and the Nasdaq composite was up Nvidia helped lead tech stocks higher after the chip giant won approval from the U S goverment to sell its advanced H computer chips used for artificial intelligence to China Nvidia rose Shares of major U S banks were mixed after several of them distributed their latest quarterly earnings reports JPMorgan Chase slipped despite beating analysts profit forecasts A closely watched measure of profitability rose less than expected Citigroup rose after reporting profits that beat forecasts The Labor Department released that inflation rose last month to its highest level since February as President Donald Trump s sweeping tariffs push up the cost of a range of goods including furniture clothing and large appliances Prices paid by U S consumers rose in June from a year earlier up from an annual increase of in May European markets were slightly higher Germany s DAX was up and France s CAC was up less than Hong Kong s Hang Seng rose The Shanghai Composite dipped after the Chinese administration communicated that China s commercial sector slowed in the last quarter as Trump s contract war escalated Tuesday s material revealed the market expanded at a robust annual pace compared with annual progress in January-March Despite worries about the damage Trump s tariffs may have on the region s exporters speculation continues that he may ultimately back down on them They don t take effect until Aug which leaves time for more negotiations If Trump were to enact all his proposed tariffs on Aug they would raise the menace of a recession That would not only hurt American consumers but also raise the pressure on the U S authorities s debt level relative to the market system s size particularly after Washington approved big tax cuts that will add to the deficit Source