Financial Markets                      07/07 09:30

   AI stocks are seesawing lower Tuesday and weighing on Wall Street.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- AI stocks are seesawing lower Tuesday and weighing on Wall 
Street.

   The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% even though the majority of stocks within the index 
rose. The drops for stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry dragged the 
Nasdaq down 0.8%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, while the Dow Jones Industrial 
Average was up 133 points, or 0.3%.

   The weakness began in Asia, where Samsung Electronics tumbled 6.9% in Seoul. 
The giant maker of computer chips gave a preliminary look at its performance 
for the second quarter, and the numbers were strong. Samsung Electronics said 
it expects to say its operating profit surged roughly 1,800% from a year 
earlier.

   Analysts called the numbers surprisingly good, but they still weren't enough 
for investors after its stock came into the day having well more than doubled 
in the year so far.

   On Wall Street, AI stocks have been facing similar pressure in recent weeks 
on worries that they shot too high and that AI may not produce enough 
productivity and profits to make all the investments in chips and data centers 
worth it.

   Micron Technology fell 7% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Nvidia 
sank 1.5% and was just behind Micron in influence because it's the largest 
stock on Wall Street.

   In stock markets abroad, South Korea's Kospi tumbled 4.9% because Samsung 
Electronics alone makes up more than a quarter of the index.

   Other Asian indexes also fell, including a 2.1% drop for Japan's Nikkei 225 
index, while European indexes were mixed.

   In the oil market, prices rose after the British military said a tanker 
traveling in the Strait of Hormuz was struck by a projectile and caught fire.

   Iranian state television said the liquefied natural gas tanker came under 
attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim the assault.

   Brent crude, the international standard, added 1.3% to $72.93.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this 
report.

   ---------

   itemid:e0194864aba4379a069ce31becae2558