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By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended little changed on Wednesday ahead of Nvidia's quarterly results, which are expected to set the tone for the artificial intelligence sector.

Stocks lost ground in afternoon trading, with investors digesting the latest comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs.

Trump said on Wednesday that his administration will soon announce a 25% tariff on imports from the European Union. He also raised hopes for another pause on steep new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada by saying they would take effect on April 2, about a month later than a deadline next week.

Nvidia's shares rose, while an index of semiconductors .SOX was also higher.

Gains in technology .SPLRCT were offset by losses in healthcare .SPXHC, consumer staples .SPLRCS and other sectors.

All eyes will be on AI-leader Nvidia's results and comments after the market's close.

The launch and popularity of low-cost AI models from China's DeepSeek had rattled the industry in January and raised questions around U.S. companies' heavy investments in the technology.

Any upbeat comments by Nvidia on demand will elevate stocks of companies investing heavily in AI, said Daniel Morgan, portfolio manager at Synovus Trust in Atlanta. "It's become the biggest tech report."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.33 points, or 0.02%, to end at 5,956.58 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 48.86 points, or 0.26%, at 19,075.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 175.82 points, or 0.40%, to 43,445.34.

Nvidia's results come near the end of a stronger-than-expected earnings period for S&P 500 companies.

"It's been a pretty constructive earnings season," said Tom Hainlin, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank.

A Reuters poll showed strategists still expect the S&P 500 to finish 2025 about 9% above current levels, although market volatility will persist.

Since last week, a series of data releases, including Tuesday's weak consumer sentiment report, have hinted that the world's largest economy might be stalling despite inflation remaining high, keeping investors on the edge.

Intuit INTU.O shares rose after the TurboTax maker forecast third-quarter revenue above Street estimates.

(Additional reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Richard Chang)

((caroline.valetkevitch@thomsonreuters.com))