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Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) to close nearly 1,000 stores, shares drop

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Intel ( INTC ) down on report Pentagon scraps plan of $2.5 bln chip

grant

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Tesla slides after Wells Fargo rating cut

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Indexes: Dow up 0.14%, S&P down 0.15%, Nasdaq off 0.49%

(Updated at 9:50 a.m. ET/1350 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian

March 13 (Reuters) - Wall Street had a lackluster start

on Wednesday, with the tech-laden Nasdaq bearing the brunt as

U.S. Treasury yields rose, while investors awaited more data for

clues on the timing of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts.

The yield on treasury notes ticked higher across the board,

pressuring rate-sensitive megacaps such as Nvidia ( NVDA ), Meta

Platforms ( META ) and Apple ( AAPL ), which lost between 0.9%

and 2.9%.

Chips stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) and

Broadcom ( AVGO ) also fell, steering a 1.7% decline in the

Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index.

The S&P 500 technology sector led sectoral

declines, dropping 1.2%, while the energy sector added

1.8%, tracking higher crude prices.

The benchmark S&P 500 climbed to a fresh record high on

Tuesday as shares of Oracle surged and slightly hot

consumer price data failed to dampen hopes of rate cuts in the

coming months.

Despite inflation being well above the central bank's 2%

target, investors have found consolation in the fact that the

Fed still sees credit conditions easing in 2024, while the

economy remains resilient.

"Investors are taking a bit of a step back today after

yesterday's run and are looking forward to the Fed's meeting

next week," said Paul Nolte, senior wealth advisor and market

strategist for Murphy & Sylvest.

Focus at the March 20 meeting is likely to be on whether

the Fed still thinks inflation is on a downward path, Nolte

said.

While the central bank is widely expected to stay put on

rates in March, traders now see a 65% chance of the first rate

cut coming in June, the CME FedWatch Tool showed.

On tap later this week is economic data that includes the

February producer prices on Thursday, which could offer more

insight into inflation in the world's largest economy.

At 9:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was

up 54.74 points, or 0.14%, at 39,060.23, the S&P 500 was

down 7.63 points, or 0.15%, at 5,167.64, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 79.22 points, or 0.49%, at 16,186.42.

Among others, Tesla shed 1.9% after brokerage Wells

Fargo downgraded the electric-vehicle maker to "underweight"

from "equal weight".

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) lost 13.4% after the discount chain

store group said it would close nearly 1,000 stores and incurred

a net loss in the previous quarter, hurt by an over-$1 billion

goodwill impairment charge. Peer Dollar General also slid

1.5%.

Intel ( INTC ) shed 0.9% after a report that the Pentagon

had pulled out of a plan to spend as much as $2.5 billion on a

chip grant to the company.

Crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), Marathon

Digital ( MARA ) and Bit Digital ( BTBT ) added 1.3% to 3.8% as

bitcoin hit a fresh record high.

GE HealthCare Technologies ( GEHC ) was down 3.8% as General

Electric ( GE ) is to cut its stake in the medical equipment

firm.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.64-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.91-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 37 new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq recorded 48 new highs and 49 new lows.