*

Nvidia ( NVDA ) market cap briefly overtakes Apple's ( AAPL )

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Capri plummets after US judge blocks Tapestry merger

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Indexes: Dow down 0.74%, S&P 500 down 0.14%, Nasdaq up

0.43%

(Updates to mid-afternoon)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal, Purvi Agarwal and Carolina Mandl

Oct 25 (Reuters) -

The Nasdaq rose on Friday, driven by megacap shares, as

Treasury yields slipped from the week's high ahead of quarterly

results from some of Wall Street's biggest companies next week.

"There's a lot of moving pieces right now, especially

because of where we are in the election cycle, but we think

earnings have been pretty good overall," said Gustaf Little,

senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield rose slightly to

4.216%, but eased off the 4.26% high earlier in the week.

The so-called "Magnificent Seven" group of interest

rate-sensitive technology stocks rallied. Chip heavyweight

Nvidia ( NVDA ) gained 0.5%, briefly overtaking Apple ( AAPL )

as the world's most valuable company based on its shares.

Tesla shares rose 1.63%, a day after surging 22%.

Apple ( AAPL ) gained 0.28% and Microsoft ( MSFT ) was up 0.64%.

However, the Dow slumped on a loss in banking shares,

with Goldman Sachs ( GS ) down 2.4%, and a 3% fall in McDonald's

as the fast-food chain copes with an E. coli outbreak

linked to its hamburgers.

Continued uncertainty around the U.S. election has also

made investors cautious, though markets have started pricing in

a second Donald Trump administration in recent weeks.

"Banks have rallied as Trump's odds (of winning)

increased, so it seems investors are taking some profits," said

Michael Rosen, chief investment officer at Angeles Investments.

As of 2:12 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell

312.79 points, or 0.74%, to 42,061.57, the S&P 500 lost

8.35 points, or 0.14%, at 5,801.51 and the Nasdaq Composite

rose 79.80 points, or 0.43%, to 18,495.28.

Equities have been unsettled this week by a rapid rise

in yields as bets on rate cuts by the Federal Reserve unraveled

on expectations of a stronger economic outlook.

"The Fed perhaps got a little too dovish ahead of the

data. ... The growth and inflation numbers don't necessarily

justify easing behavior," said Arnim Holzer, global macro

strategist at Easterly EAB Risk Solutions.

Investors are still pricing in another 25-basis-point

rate cut at the Fed's November meeting and about two rate cuts

by the end of the year, LSEG data showed.

The week starting Oct. 28, the final stretch before the Nov.

5 U.S. presidential election, is crucial for Wall Street. This

is when results from megacap tech firms including Alphabet

, Apple ( AAPL ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) are due, along

with the October U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.

"With such high valuations ... at this point, these high

growth tech companies need to confirm both AI (artificial

intelligence) growth and execution. They need to show and

deliver," Holzer said.

Capri Holdings ( CPRI ) slumped 48.4% after a U.S. judge

blocked a pending merger between the fashion holding company and

handbag maker Tapestry. Shares of Tapestry rose 12.59%.

Regional lender New York Community Bancorp ( NYCB/PA )

dropped 9.57% after reporting its fourth straight quarter of

loss

, primarily due to its commercial real estate loans.

Only three of the 11 S&P sectors were in the green:

communications services, information technology and consumer

discretionary.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.49-to-1

ratio on the NYSE. There were 165 new highs and 39 new lows on

the NYSE.

The S&P 500 posted 30 new 52-week highs and one new low

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 73 new highs and 74 new

lows.