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Nvidia ( NVDA ), Micron Tech ( MU ) help buoy Nasdaq

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Walt Disney ( DIS ) gains after Barclays upgrade

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Boeing ( BA ) CEO to step down in shakeup amid safety crisis;

shares up

(Updated at 4:00 p.m. ET/ 2000 GMT)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) -

The Dow and S&P 500 slipped on Monday, the first session

after the biggest weekly percentage gains for the indexes this

year, as investors gauged the likely path of interest rates from

the Federal Reserve ahead of key inflation data due later in

this holiday-shortened week.

Last week, the Fed maintained its guidance for three

interest-rate cuts this year, and the S&P 500 and Dow had strong

gains while the Nasdaq notched its biggest weekly percentage

gain since mid-January.

On Monday, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said he

had penciled in three rate cuts for this year, while Fed

Governor Lisa Cook said the central bank needs to proceed with

caution as it decides when to start cutting interest rates.

"It's a breather, the market has held really well, so people

are waiting, there's a lot of people waiting for that pullback,"

said Joe Saluzzi, partner, co-founder and co-head of equity

trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.

"What the Fed did was give the all clear for now, it's

really interesting what they are doing. They're not cutting

anything yet they just keep delaying it and the market is fine

with that... but they're doing a good job right now of saving

the bullets for when they need them."

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

lost 15.43 points, or 0.29%, to end at 5,219.02 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite lost 44.35 points, or 0.27%,

to 16,384.47. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 164.21 points, or 0.42%, to 39,317.15.

Economic data showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes

fell unexpectedly in February after mortgage rates increased

during the month. The underlying trend remained strong with a

chronic shortage of previously owned houses on the market.

The Nasdaq held close to unchanged in part due to gains

in chipmakers Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Micron Technology ( MU ), with Micron hitting

an intraday record. Semiconductor shares were choppy, showing

initial weakness after a report over the weekend said

China had introduced guidelines

to phase out U.S. microprocessors supplied by Intel ( INTC )

and AMD from government personal computers and

servers.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ended

slightly lower, after alternating between gains and losses

during the session. Intel ( INTC ) and AMD closed lower.

Expectations for a Fed rate cut in June were again

increasing, with markets now pricing in a 71.9% chance for a cut

of at least 25 basis points (bps), according to CME's FedWatch

Tool, up from around 54.7% a week ago.

The February reading of the Personal Consumption

Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation

gauge, is due on Friday, when U.S. markets will be shut for the

Good Friday holiday.

A strong reading could jolt market expectations about the

timing of a rate cut.

Boeing ( BA ) rose after announcing a broad management

shakeup and said CEO Dave Calhoun would step down from his

position at the end of 2024. But the planemaker finished off

session highs.

Walt Disney ( DIS ) advanced after Barclays upgraded the

stock to "overweight" from "equal weight".