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PDD Holdings ( PDD ) slumps after quarterly revenue miss

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Oil shares up on supply disruption fears, Middle East

tensions

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Boeing ( BA ) slips as NASA picks SpaceX over Starliner

(Updates with market close)

By Johann M Cherian and Noel Randewich

Aug 26 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 finished lower on Monday,

with AI heavyweight Nvidia ( NVDA ) dipping ahead of its quarterly report

this week, while investors awaited inflation data for clues

about the path of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq also declined, but the Dow Jones

Industrial Average was supported by gains in Caterpillar ( CAT )

and American Express ( AXP ) and finished just slightly up.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) dropped ahead of its report on Wednesday in

what is set to be the U.S. stock market's most closely watched

event of the week.

Some investors worried that anything short of a stellar

forecast from Nvidia ( NVDA ) could shatter Wall Street's rally in

AI-related companies, including Microsoft ( MSFT ), Alphabet

and Meta Platforms ( META ).

"Nvidia ( NVDA ) could disappoint. I think when you get to the point

where the majority doesn't even suspect that there could be a

piece of bad news, that's typically where you get it," warned

Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management in

Tulsa, Oklahoma.

U.S.-listed shares of PDD Holdings ( PDD ) tumbled after

the Temu-owner missed market expectations for second-quarter

revenue.

Tesla lost ground after Canada, following the lead

of the U.S. and European Union, said it would impose a 100%

tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

lost 16.92 points, or 0.30%, to end at 5,617.69 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite lost 148.52 points, or 0.83%,

to 17,729.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71.38

points, or 0.17%, to 41,246.46.

The energy sector index jumped following reports of

oil supply disruptions amid the geopolitical conflict in the

Middle East lifted crude prices.

Wall Street rallied on Friday, with the S&P 500

nearing record highs after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said "the

time has come" to lower borrowing costs in the light of a

diminishing upside risk to inflation and moderating labor

demand.

Money markets suggest traders see a 70% chance of a 25 basis

point interest rate cut and a 30% chance of a 50 basis point cut

in September, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Friday's highly anticipated Personal Consumption Expenditure

data for July, the central bank's preferred inflation gauge,

could provide more insight into the policy easing trajectory.

Results from Dell, Salesforce ( CRM ), Dollar

General ( DG ) and Gap are on tap this week.