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Nvidia ( NVDA ) falls after Chinese regulator launches antitrust

probe

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Hershey jumps after report Mondelez ( MDLZ ) exploring acquisition

of co

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Indexes down: Dow 0.22%, S&P 500 0.44%, Nasdaq 0.48%

(Updates with mid-session trading)

By Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan

Dec 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes slipped on

Monday as declines in AI powerhouse Nvidia ( NVDA ) pressured tech

stocks, while investors awaited a key inflation report this

week.

Chipmaker Nvidia lost 3.1% after China's market

regulator said it had opened an investigation into the company

over suspected violation of the country's antimonopoly law,

sending the information technology sector down 0.4%.

Peer Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) also fell 4.2% as

BofA Global Research downgraded its rating on the stock. A gauge

of semiconductor stocks was down 0.7%.

"A name like Nvidia ( NVDA ) is coming under pressure because of the

sort of retaliatory actions of China and that is putting some

pressure on the tech space," said Robert Pavlik, senior

portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

"People are just trying to work out what they are going to

do between now and year-end ... those that are positioning, are

maybe thinking about taking some profit before heading into the

next year."

At 11:26 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 94.95 points, or 0.22%, to 44,547.57, the S&P 500

lost 27.02 points, or 0.44%, to 6,063.25, and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 96.30 points, or 0.48%, to 19,763.66.

Comcast ( CMCSA ) lost 7.6% after forecasting broadband

subscriber losses of a little over 100,000 for the fourth

quarter. That pulled down the communication services sector

by 1.1%.

Hershey jumped 12% to lead gainers on the S&P

500, after a report said Cadbury-parent Mondelez ( MDLZ ) was

exploring an acquisition of the chocolate maker. Mondelez ( MDLZ ) shares

were off 2.4%.

On the data front, the consumer prices index (CPI) data

due on Wednesday is among the last major datasets ahead of the

Federal Reserve's Dec. 17-18 meeting and could influence the

central bank's monetary policy path.

Bets of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the upcoming meeting

shot up to more than 85% after data on Friday showed a rise in

the unemployment rate to 4.2% in November, pointing to an easing

labor market.

A host of Fed officials including Chair Jerome Powell last

week urged more caution around the central bank's monetary

policy easing path considering the resilience of the economy.

Wall Street's main indexes kicked off December on a broadly

positive note, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the

tech-heavy Nasdaq logging gains in their first week,

while the blue-chip Dow ended the week marginally lower.

U.S. equities surged in November as Donald Trump's victory

in the presidential election and his party sweeping both houses

of Congress raised expectations of a friendlier policy stance

towards companies.

Among notable movers on Monday, Workday added 6.3%

on its planned inclusion into the S&P 500 index.

Interpublic Group advanced 7.2% after a report said

marketing conglomerate Omnicom ( OMC ) was in advanced talks to

acquire the advertising company. Omnicom ( OMC ) shares were down 8.7%.

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

on the NYSE and by a 1.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 97 new highs and 34 new lows.