US stocks mixed as Coca-Cola gains and Tesla drops

NEW YORK - Wall Street’s main indexes ended mixed on Feb 11 as gains in Coca-Cola and Apple offset losses in Tesla, while investors parsed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments.

The US central bank is no rush to cut its short-term interest rate again given the economy is “strong overall”, with low unemployment and inflation still above the Fed’s 2 per cent target, Mr Powell said in opening remarks at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

Investors were also on the lookout for any new tariff comments from US President Donald Trump, a day after he substantially raised levies on imports of steel and aluminum and said there would be announcements over the next two days about reciprocal tariffs on all countries that impose duties on US goods.

“Valuations are elevated, company guidance is measured, inflation is persistent, government policy is uncertain, tariff talk is ongoing and global tensions are elevated. So in aggregate, the level of uncertainty is high, which implies increased volatility,” said Mr Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management.

Coca-Cola advanced 4.7 per cent after the beverage maker beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates, helped by higher prices and resilient demand for its sodas and juices.

Tesla tumbled 6.3 per cent a day after Reuters and others reported a consortium led by

CEO Elon Musk offered US$97 billion

(S$132 billion) to buy the nonprofit that controls artificial intelligence startup OpenAI.

Mr Powell’s Senate testimony is the first of two days of hearings on Capitol Hill. He is set to speak to the House Financial Services Committee on Feb 12.

Traders expect at least one 25-basis-point rate cut from the Fed this year, and a 44 per cent chance of another reduction of the same magnitude, according to LSEG data.

January consumer price index data is scheduled to be released on Feb 12, before Mr Powell’s appearance.

Apple climbed 2.2 per cent after The Information reported Apple was partnering with Alibaba to develop and roll out artificial intelligence features for iPhone users in China.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.03 per cent to end the session at 6,068.50 points.

The Nasdaq declined 0.36 per cent to 19,643.86 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28 per cent to 44,593.65 points.

Volume on US exchanges was relatively heavy, with 15.4 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 14.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, eight rose, led by consumer staples, up 0.91 per cent, followed by a 0.76 per cent gain in energy. Consumer discretionary fell 1.2 per cent.

Phillips 66 rose 4.7 per cent after activist Elliott Investment Management said it had built a stake of more than US$2.5 billion in the oil refiner.

DuPont de Nemours jumped almost 7 per cent after the industrial materials maker raised its 2025 profit forecast on strong demand for electronics.

Water technology firm Ecolab rallied 6.2 per cent after the company forecast higher-than-expected adjusted profit for 2025.

Fidelity National Information Services sank over 11 per cent after the banking and payments processing conglomerate forecast first-quarter profit below estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 1.1-to-one ratio. Across the US stock market, declining stocks outnumbered rising ones by a 1.3-to-one ratio. REUTERS