Wall St struggles for direction as investors evaluate tech trade

FILE PHOTO: The Nasdaq Market site is seen in New York City, U.S., March 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) -Wall Street's main indexes were flat to higher in choppy trading on Wednesday, with technology stocks attempting to find a floor after a recent selloff, while investors awaited a crucial inflation report this week to gauge the path of monetary policy.

Chip leader Nvidia reversed early gains to fall 1.1%, with its losses weighing on the broader Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index, which fell 0.5%.

The S&P 500 information technology index edged 0.3% higher in another volatile session for the sector, which is instrumental in Wall Street's rise to fresh record highs this year as investors questioned whether other sectors offered better opportunities.

"It's been four days in a row where the Dow and Nasdaq have gone in opposite direction, which really hammers home the kind of indecision we're seeing," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at the Carson Group.

Positive earnings and better inflation data could trigger more rotation from tech to sectors that have lagged broader gains this year, Detrick said.

Apple rose 2.4% after Rosenblatt upgraded the iPhone maker's stock to "buy" from "neutral", while Tesla jumped 3.5% to a nearly two-month high.

Meanwhile, shares of Amazon Inc leapt 3.5%, bringing the company's market value above $2 trillion, the fifth U.S. corporation to cross that level.

"We're probably going to see this choppiness continue until there is a catalyst," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.

Delivery giant FedEx jumped 14% after forecasting fiscal 2025 profit above estimates, boosting the Dow Jones Transport index to its highest in over a month.

Appliances manufacturer Whirlpool surged 14.1% after Reuters reported that German engineering group Robert Bosch is weighing a bid for the U.S. appliances maker.

Several economic data releases are on tap this week, leading up to Friday's release of the much-anticipated personal consumption expenditures price index - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge.

With the Fed projecting only one interest rate cut in December, all eyes will be on whether the data shows an expected moderation in price pressures.

Market participants see a 62% chance of a 25-basis point rate cut in September, and about two cuts by the year-end, LSEG's interest rate probabilities app showed.

At 12:32 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 22.65 points, or 0.06%, at 39,134.81, the S&P 500 was up 2.87 points, or 0.05%, at 5,472.17, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 65.81 points, or 0.37%, at 17,783.47.

Shares of major U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Bank of America slipped between 0.2% and 0.7% ahead of the Fed's release of results from its annual banking sector stress test.

The broader S&P 500 financial index fell 0.6%.

Rivian soared 22.5% as German automaker Volkswagen said it will invest up to $5 billion in the U.S. electric-vehicle maker.

General Mills dipped 4.7% after the Cheerios cereal maker forecast annual profit below estimates and posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.85-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.22-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded nine new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 28 new highs and 142 new lows.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas, Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Maju Samuel)