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Kroger ( KR ) gains after lifting annual sales target

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Accenture ( ACN ) falls as new bookings decreased in Q3

(Updates to close)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, June 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq

ended lower on Friday, with investors on edge over the

Iran-Israel conflict heading into the weekend, as the U.S.

considers whether to get involved.

Trading was choppy for much of the session.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran backed

continued discussions with Germany, France, Britain and the EU

and would be prepared to meet again soon following talks in

Geneva.

The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump

will decide in the next two weeks whether the U.S. will get

involved in the Israel-Iran air war, adding pressure on Tehran

to negotiate.

"Investors are a little bit nervous about buying stocks

right in front of this situation and, more specifically, right

in front of this weekend," said Rick Meckler, a partner at

Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey.

Israel's attacks have been aimed at suppressing Tehran's

ability to build nuclear weapons.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 12.53

points, or 0.21%, to end at 5,968.34 points, while the Nasdaq

Composite lost 95.27 points, or 0.49%, to 19,451.01. The

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.47 points, or 0.09%,

to 42,210.13.

Investors weighed comments from Federal Reserve officials

after the Fed on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged and Fed

Chair Jerome Powell warned inflation could pick up pace over the

summer.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he felt the inflation

risk from tariffs was small, and that the Fed should cut rates

as soon as its next meeting. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin

took a more tempered view, saying there was no urgency to cut

rates.

Tech-related megacap stocks, including Nvidia ( NVDA ), were

among the biggest negatives on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Kroger ( KR ) shares jumped after the grocery chain

increased its annual sales growth forecast.

Shares of Accenture ( ACN ) fell after the IT services

provider said new bookings decreased in the third quarter.

(Additional reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Rod Nickel)