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Walmart ( WMT ) falls after CFO flags Q2 to be challenging

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Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) falls after report of Boeing ( BA ) deal

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Indexes: Dow down 0.74%, S&P up 0.32%, Nasdaq up 1.21%

(Updated at 11:58 a.m. ET/1558 GMT)

By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

June 25 (Reuters) -

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped over 1% on Tuesday, buoyed by

strength in Nvidia ( NVDA ) and other megacaps, while the Dow slipped as

investors awaited a crucial inflation print this week for

further cues on the U.S. monetary policy path.

AI chip firm Nvidia ( NVDA ) soared 6%, recovering some

of the steep losses it had notched in three consecutive

declining sessions. At current levels, the stock is still 12%

away from last week's record high.

"The Nvidia ( NVDA ) story is currently more of a technical one, and

not necessarily fundamental. It could be a great stock in the

long run, but investors just need to be cautious," said Cetera

Investment Management's chief market strategist, Brian Klimke.

Arm Holdings, Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Applied

Materials ( AMAT ) also gained 2%-4%, helping the Philadelphia

SE semiconductor index rise 1.4% after its recent slide.

Megacaps including Alphabet and Meta Platforms ( META )

rose 2% each, helping the S&P 500 communication

services index gain 1.3%. Technology led

sectoral gains, up 1.5%, recovering from a three-day slide.

The recent pullback in tech and tech-adjacent stocks had

prompted investors to lap up lagging sectors, with utilities

and energy enjoying strong gains on Monday.

"We've been calling for broadening to other segments for

a while. Indexes are really concentrated within a few top

holdings, so even though you've been hurt recently by these

names doing so well, it's good to be diversified," Klimke added.

The Dow pulled back from a one-month high hit on

Monday, while the small-cap Russell 2000 index also lost

some steam.

The Dow Jones Transport Average also dropped 1.5%

after recent gains. Index-heavyweight FedEx ( FDX ) lost 1%

ahead of its quarterly results after markets close.

Technology and other growth stocks have driven the S&P

500 and the Nasdaq to record highs this year, but the continued

underperformance in the value-tilted Dow has raised some

concerns over the sustainability of equity strength.

The most-anticipated event of the week is the personal

consumption expenditures (PCE) price index - the Fed's preferred

inflation gauge - on Friday.

Traders see 61% odds of a 25-basis-point rate cut in

September, and are eyeing around two cuts by the year-end,

according to LSEG's FedWatch data.

At 11:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

was down 292.73 points, or 0.74%, at 39,118.48, the S&P 500

was up 17.30 points, or 0.32%, at 5,465.17, and the

Nasdaq Composite was up 211.11 points, or 1.21%, at

17,707.92.

Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) slumped 5.3%. A report showed

Boeing ( BA ) has offered to acquire the airplane fuselage maker

in a deal funded mostly by stock that values its key supplier at

about $35 per share. Boeing ( BA ) dropped 3%.

Cruise operator Carnival Corp ( CCL ) gained 7.4% after

raising its annual profit forecast for the second time this

year.

Walmart ( WMT ) fell 2.5% after its CFO flagged the second

quarter as the "most challenging quarter" at the NYSE 2024

European Investor Conference in London.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.05-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and for a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 18 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 120 new lows.