U.S. stocks open lower as chip stocks fall, investors await comments from Fed Chair Powell

U.S. stock indexes opened lower on Wednesday as chip stocks tumbled after a report that Washington lawmakers are considering new curbs on export of computing chips for artificial intelligence (AI) to China as early as July, while investors awaited Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech for clues on the interest-rate outlook. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-0.09%
dropped 43 points, or 0.3%, to 13,510, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.24%
was off 0.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.24%
shed 0.2%. Late Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Commerce Department could further block sales of AI chips to China unless U.S. companies first obtain a special license covering such exports. Shares of U.S. chipmakers fell on Wednesday morning with Nvidia Corporation shares
NVDA,
-2.09%
down 2.4% after the opening bell, while Advanced Micro Devices
AMD,
-1.99%
shares tumbled 1.6% and Intel Corporation
INTC,
-2.60%
dropped 1.5%. Investors are waiting to hear from key central bank policymakers in a panel discussion at the European Central Bank (ECB) ’s annual forum in Sintra, Portugal, including Fed’s Powell and ECB President Christine Lagarde. The session will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET.