Wall Street Pauses Amid Mixed Earnings and Economic Signals

Wall Street's primary indices paused following robust gains from major bank earnings, led by Morgan Stanley. Mixed economic data, including falling UnitedHealth shares and varying S&P 500 sector performance, added to investor uncertainty. Speculations on Federal Reserve actions continue, influencing market sentiments.

Wall Street's main indices experienced a brief pause on Thursday after logging significant gains from major bank earnings in the previous session, with Morgan Stanley seeing a rise in profits due to a surge in dealmaking.

Investor sentiment was affected by mixed economic signals, including UnitedHealth experiencing over a 2% drop due to underwhelming fourth-quarter revenue. Market performance also varied across different sectors of the S&P 500.

On Capitol Hill, discussions centered around potential U.S. policy changes, influencing the Federal Reserve's interest rate forecasts, which are factoring into trader strategies, while semiconductor stocks saw a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co's record profits.

(With inputs from agencies.)