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US moves towards faster stock settlement

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Apple ( AAPL ) near flat despite strong iPhone sales in China

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Dow fell 0.55%, S&P 500 gained 0.02%, Nasdaq gained 0.59%

(Updates to 4:15 p.m. ET)

By Abigail Summerville

NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq crossed 17,000

for the first time ever on Tuesday, boosted by gains in Nvidia ( NVDA ),

while the S&P 500 closed barely higher and the Dow ended lower

as Treasury yields rose.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) jumped 7% and boosted shares of other chip

stocks as traders returned from a holiday-extended weekend. An

index of semiconductors rose 1.9%.

S&P 500 technology led gains among sectors,

while healthcare was the biggest decliner along with

industrials.

Stocks lost ground in afternoon trading as U.S. Treasury

yields climbed to multi-week highs after weak debt auctions.

"We had two disappointing results and we saw yields climb

and the (stock) market respond negatively," said Quincy Krosby,

chief global strategist, LPL Financial in Charlotte, North

Carolina.

"The market doesn't want to see yields edging up... to a

level that perhaps threatens the economy and the consumer and

thwarts the (Federal Reserve)'s time table for easing."

Investors awaited U.S. inflation data this week that

could sway expectations for Fed rate cuts.

The U.S. core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price

Index report for April is due later this week. The Fed's

preferred inflation barometer is expected to hold steady on a

monthly basis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 216.73

points, or 0.55%, to 38,852.86, the S&P 500 gained 1.32

points, or 0.02%, to 5,306.04 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 99.09 points, or 0.59%, to 17,019.88.

Wall Street has been hitting records recently as investors

bet the U.S. central bank could kick off interest-rate cuts this

year.

Expectations for the timing of rate cuts have see-sawed,

with policymakers wary as data still reflects sticky inflation.

Odds of a rate reduction of at least 25 basis points stand

above the 50% mark only for the months of November and December

this year, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. The odds of a

September rate cut fell to around 46% from over 50% a week ago.

The retail sector will also be in focus this week, with

several retailers like Dollar General ( DG ), Advance Auto Parts ( AAP )

and Best Buy ( BBY ) due to report results.

U.S. trading moves to a shorter settlement on Tuesday, which

regulators hope will reduce risk and improve efficiency, but is

expected to temporarily increase transaction failures for

investors.

Apple ( AAPL ) shares rose after iPhone sales in China

surged 52% in April from a year earlier, Reuters calculations

based on industry data showed. But the stock pared gains late

and closed only slightly higher at $189.99.

GameStop ( GME ) shares shot up about 25.2% and closed at

$23.78. Late on Friday, the videogame retailer said it had

raised $933 million by selling 45 million shares as part of an

"at-the-market" offering.

Hess shareholders approved the $53 billion merger

with Chevron ( CVX ). Hess shares closed up 0.4%, while Chevron ( CVX )

shares closed up 0.8% and Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) shares closed up

1.3%.

On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a

1.34-to-1 ratio and by a 1.75-to-1 ratio on the NYSE.

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 93 new highs and 107 new

lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.91 billion shares,

compared with the 12.32 billion average for the full session

over the last 20 trading days.