*

Nvidia ( NVDA ) dips ahead of Wednesday earnings

*

Lilly up on launching higher-dose, discounted Zepbound

vials

*

Solventum ( SOLV ) jumps after Thermo Fisher said it will buy unit

for

$4.1 bln

*

Indexes: Dow up 0.17%, S&P 500 off 0.56%, Nasdaq down

1.37%

(Updates to mid-afternoon)

By Stephen Culp

Feb 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks struggled on Tuesday,

with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touching one-month lows as a

dour consumer confidence report put mounting economic

uncertainties into sharp relief and prompted a selloff.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were both on track to notch their

fourth consecutive sessions in the red, while the Dow was

modestly higher.

"This is clearly a risk-off day and a continuation of a

risk-off month," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment

Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Many companies are expressing caution about the direction

of consumer spending at the moment and today's consumer

confidence number bears that out."

The mood of the consumer, who props up about 70% of U.S.

GDP, has dimmed considerably in February, according to The

Conference Board's consumer confidence index, which registered

its steepest monthly drop since August 2021.

Rising consumer uncertainties were laid bare by an 11.3%

plunge in the near-term expectations component, well below the

level associated with impending recession.

Tuz said the political environment was not helping.

"Headlines have been pretty dramatic ... and as a result

consumers and maybe businesses are sitting on their hands to see

how things shake out before making major purchasing decisions or

other business decisions," Tuz said.

"There are just lots of reasons to put off buying things

today, including stocks."

Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin said on

Tuesday that current uncertainties call for a measured, cautious

approach to monetary policy.

Interest-rate futures imply the U.S. Federal Reserve will

hold its key interest rate steady for the first half of the

year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The CBOE market volatility index, widely known as the

"fear index," spiked to its highest level since January 27.

Bitcoin, often viewed as a barometer of investor risk

appetite, plunged 7.8%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 73.53 points,

or 0.17%, to 43,534.74, the S&P 500 lost 33.71 points, or

0.56%, to 5,949.54 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 264.89

points, or 1.37%, to 19,022.03.

Among the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, energy

was down the most, with consumer staples enjoying the

biggest percentage gains.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) dropped 2.0% ahead of the chipmaker's much

anticipated quarterly earnings report expected after the bell on

Wednesday, pulling the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index down

2.1%.

U.S. officials, in a bid to restrict Beijing's technological

capabilities, are aiming to restrict the quantity and types of

Nvidia ( NVDA ) chips that can be exported to China without a license,

according to a Bloomberg report.

Bitcoin weakness weighed on crypto stocks. Coinbase

and MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) dropped 8.3% and 13.4%, respectively.

Zoom Communications ( ZM ) slid 9.3% following its

disappointing annual revenue forecast.

U.S.-listed shares of Li Auto jumped 13.4% after the

company unveiled its first electric SUV.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) rose 2.2% after the drugmaker said it has

begun selling higher doses of its weight-loss drug Zepbound in

vials in the U.S., at a discount to the injector-pen versions.

Solventum ( SOLV ) jumped 8.6% after drug manufacturer

Thermo Fisher said it will buy the company's

purification and filtration business for about $4.1 billion.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.12-to-1 ratio

on the New York Stock Exchange. There were 75 new highs and 146

new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 1,588 stocks rose and 2,784 fell as declining

issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.75-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 30 new 52-week highs and seven new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 39 new highs and 277 new

lows.