Wall Street mixed as investors await Fed rate clues, data
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KB Home falls after Q3 profit misses estimates
Apple edges down as data shows China sales drop in Aug
Ford, GM slide on Morgan Stanley downgrade
Indexes: Dow down 0.48%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq up 0.26%
Updated at 11:42 a.m. ET/1542 GMT
By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal
Sept 25 (Reuters) -Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 hovering near a record high, as investors awaited more indicators on the state of the economy and upcoming interest rate reductions.
The three mainindexes were propped up formonthly gains after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates,raising expectations for a soft landing. However, a weak consumer sentiment report on Tuesday fanned some cautionabout the health of the labor market.
The yield on long-term Treasury bonds US30YT=RR, US10YT=RR ticked higher on worries that looser financial conditions could re-ignite inflation. US/
Odds of a 50 basis point cut by the central bank at its November meeting have ticked up to 57.4%, from a coin toss earlier in the week, as per the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
"The Fed itself is suggesting additional cuts this year and well into 2025 but the market is certainly pricing in a more aggressive rate cut regime," said Scott Welch, chief investment officer at Certuity.
At 11:42 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 202.11 points, or 0.48%, to 42,006.11, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.01 points, or was flat at 5,732.92 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 47.87 points, or 0.26%, to 18,122.39.
Sixout of the 11 S&P 500 sectors trended lower, led by energy stocks .SPNY. Tech stocks .SPLRCT bucked the trend, lifted by Nvidia's NVDA.O 3% gain.
The blue-chip Dow slipped after hitting record highs, bogged down by a 4.8% drop in Amgen AMGN.Oafter the drugmaker reported mixed data on two drugs, fanning competition concerns.
The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaqare up about 20% so far this year on rate cut expectations and optimism around artificial intelligence. However, the S&P 500 is trading at valuations high above longterm averages.
"The market has run up quite a bit and we may be reaching valuation levels where people begin to get uncomfortable," Welch added.
On the data side,sales of new U.S. single-family homesfell in August, but declining mortgage rates and house prices could stimulate demand in the months ahead.
The main focus, however, will be on theweekly jobless claims and personal consumption expenditure (PCE) indexfor August due later in the week.
Remarks from Fed Governor Adriana Kugler, due after markets close, will also be parsed. But focus will be on ChairJerome Powell's speech at the New York Treasury Market Conference on Thursday.
Among others, Apple AAPL.O slipped 0.7%. Sales of foreign-branded smartphones, including iPhones, in China fell in August on an annual basis, data from a government-affiliated research firm showed.
Citigroup C.N, Bank of America BAC.N and JPMorgan & Chase JPM.N weighed on the broader bank index .SPKBK, which was down 1.2%.
KB Home KBH.N fell 4% after posting a downbeatthird-quarter profit.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise HPE.N topped the S&P 500 with a 4.8% gain after Barclays' rating upgrade.
Ford F.N lost 4.3% and General Motors GM.N fell 5.3% to bottom the benchmark index after Morgan Stanley lowered its recommendations onthe automakers.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.69-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 57 new lows.
Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bengalurul Editing by Maju Samuel
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