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Crypto-related stocks drop as bitcoin falls

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Most chip stocks under pressure, Nvidia ( NVDA ) falls

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Indexes: Dow up 0.11%, S&P off 0.23%, Nasdaq down 0.71%

(Updated at 9:52 a.m. ET/1352 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan

March 19 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell on Tuesday with most megacap

and chip stocks weakening, while sentiment remained fragile

ahead of the Federal Reserve's March policy meeting.

Investor darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 3.0% after the company

unveiled the Blackwell B200, an AI chip it says is up to 30

times faster than its previous chip. Some investors suggested

the news was priced into the high-flying stock.

Fellow chipmakers such as AMD, Marvell Technology ( MRVL )

and Intel ( INTC ) shed between 1.9% and 4.9%, while

the Philadelphia Semiconductor index dipped 2.3%.

AI server maker Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) dropped nearly

11.5% after announcing that it will sell 2 million shares that

could fetch about $2 billion.

At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was

up 42.20 points, or 0.11%, at 38,832.63, the S&P 500 was

down 11.67 points, or 0.23%, at 5,137.75, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 114.69 points, or 0.71%, at

15,988.76.

Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading were

lower, with information technology down 0.8%.

Most megacap stocks fell in early trading, with Tesla

losing 3.2% and Meta Platforms ( META ) retreating

2.3%.

All three major stock indexes finished higher in the

previous session, with the Nasdaq bouncing back from two

successive small weekly losses as growth stocks such as Alphabet

and Tesla boosted the tech-heavy index.

Focus will remain on U.S. central bankers who are expected

to hold rates steady at the end of their two-day meeting on

Wednesday.

But, investors are concerned that their new economic

projections may be a wild card, potentially signaling fewer

interest rate cuts and a later start to the policy easing cycle.

"It's all about the dot plot," said Mike Reynolds, vice

president of investment strategy at Glenmede.

"There's almost no expectation that they're taking rates

off the highs but the Fed is going to be taking a hard look at

inflation, which for the first two months of the year has been

pretty sticky."

Robust inflation data has pushed traders to pull back bets

of the first rate cut coming in June to 55.2% from 71% at the

start of last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Among other movers, crypto-exchange operator Coinbase Global ( COIN )

and miners Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) and Marathon Digital

Holdings ( MARA ) shed between 6.4% and 7.7%, tracking the sharp

slide in bitcoin.

Spire Global ( SPIR ) jumped 56.3% after the company

announced a collaboration with Nvidia ( NVDA ) for AI-driven weather

prediction.

Fusion Pharmaceuticals ( FUSN ) jumped 97.4% after

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) said it will buy the Canadian drug developer

for $2 billion in cash.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.28-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and declining issues outnumbered advancers for a

1.04-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 29 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq recorded 24 new highs and 57 new lows.