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Unemployment rate rises to 3.9%, wage gains moderate

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Broadcom ( AVGO ) down as FY forecast fails to impress

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Marvell ( MRVL ) falls on weak Q1 earnings forecast

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Indexes: Dow up 0.18%, S&P off 0.04%, Nasdaq down 0.19%

(Updated at 11:42 a.m. ET/1642 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amruta Khandekar

March 8 (Reuters) -

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell on Friday as a rally in chip

stocks lost some steam, while a mixed labor market report showed

that employers added more jobs than expected in February though

the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose.

The two indexes briefly hit intra-day record highs

earlier in the session before erasing gains.

AI darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 1.5%, leading losses among

megacap growth and technology peers after hitting a fresh record

high, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index also

came off a record peak, last down 1.8%.

"We're just at a point where investors maybe have chased

these stocks too much and they need to cool off a bit," said

Dennis Dick, a trader at Triple D Trading.

"What you're seeing is profit-taking. People may be

nervous going into the weekend."

Broadcom ( AVGO ) slid 5.6% after the tech company's

full-year forecast failed to impress investors.

Shares of Marvell Technology ( MRVL ) shed 9.1% after t

forecast first-quarter results below market expectations on soft

demand in its wireless infrastructure, consumer and enterprise

markets.

At 11:42 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 68.68 points, or 0.18%, at 38,860.03, the S&P 500

was down 1.81 points, or 0.04%, at 5,155.55, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 31.25 points, or 0.19%, at 16,242.13.

Meanwhile, U.S. job growth accelerated in February, with

nonfarm payrolls increasing by 275,000 jobs against an expected

200,000 rise. Data for January, however, was revised lower to

show that 229,000 jobs were created.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February after holding

at 3.7% for three straight months, while wage growth slowed to

0.1% on a monthly basis.

"At the end of the day this was a pretty dovish print

because we had slower wage gains," said Cameron Dawson, chief

investment officer of NewEdge Wealth in New York.

"As of right now, the labor market is tight and healthy.

However, it's not as hot as it was, which takes some of the

inflation pressure off."

This followed overnight commentary from Fed Chair Jerome

Powell that central bank was "not far" from gaining the

confidence that inflation is falling sufficiently to begin

cutting interest rates.

Focus now shifts to consumer prices (CPI) data due next week

for more cues on potential rate cuts.

Gap climbed 5.1% after the retailer beat Wall Street

expectations for fourth-quarter results, buoyed by strong demand

on improved product offerings at its Old Navy and namesake

brands during the holiday season, and lower markdowns.

Costco Wholesale ( COST ) eased 6.6% as quarterly sales fell

short of estimates due to tepid demand for higher-margin goods.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.90-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.48-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 61 new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq recorded 108 new highs and 42 new lows.