By Sukriti Gupta and Noel Randewich (Reuters) -Wall Street indexes were mixed on Tuesday as investors digested mostly positive quarterly results from big U.S. banks, comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and an ongoing U.S.-China trade war. A slew of major lenders reported solid results on strong performance in the investment banking segment, helping the S&P 500 banking index rally 2%. Wells Fargo surged 8.4% and was on track for its best day in six months and Citigroup jumped 4.6% after both lenders beat estimates for third-quarter profit. JPMorgan Chase raised its full-year forecast for net interest income and Goldman Sachs beat Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit. However, shares of both JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, which have outperformed most rivals this year, fell 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively. BlackRock's assets under management hit a record $13.46 trillion, lifting its shares 3.7%. U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war with China remained in focus for investors as the two countries began charging additional port fees on ocean shipping firms that move everything from holiday toys to crude oil. Global equities were shaken on Friday after Trump threatened 100% tariffs on Chinese goods after Beijing imposed controls on the export of rare earth minerals, although he softened his tone over the weekend. "The market is really struggling with where this shakes out," said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird Private Wealth Management. "If the (Trump) administration feels like ramping up these tensions again, the market looks pretty expensive right now for that sort of fight, especially if 100% tariffs and other measures are back on the board." The U.S. labor market remained mired in its low-hiring, low-firing doldrums through September, though the economy overall "may be on a somewhat firmer trajectory than expected," Powell said in remarks prepared for delivery at a National Association for Business Economics conference. The S&P 500 was up 0.29% at 6,674.27 points. The Nasdaq declined 0.21% to 22,646.84 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.91% at 46,488.75 points. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by financials, up 1.7%, followed by a 1.53% gain in industrials. Gains in industrial stocks supported the Dow. Caterpillar jumped almost 5% after J.P. Morgan raised its price target on the stock. The International Monetary Fund marginally lifted its 2025 global growth forecast, as tariff shocks and financial conditions have proven more benign than expected, while warning that a renewed U.S.-China trade war could slow output significantly. Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 by a 5.4-to-one ratio. The S&P 500 posted 22 new highs and 10 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 100 new highs and 91 new lows. (Reporting by Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Additional reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Maju Samuel and Matthew Lewis)
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