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Crypto stocks fall mirroring bitcoin prices

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Moderna ( MRNA ) rises after positive data on cancer drug

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Indexes: Dow off 0.02%, S&P up 0.14%, Nasdaq gains 0.32%

(Updates to 16:12 EDT)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq and S&P 500

posted modest gains on Tuesday, a day ahead of major inflation

data, weighed down by financial stocks as investors braced for

major U.S. banks to kick off earnings reporting season on

Friday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, boosted by

chips, enjoyed a more substantial advance, with the S&P

500 nominally higher.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed

essentially unchanged.

Wednesday's hotly anticipated Consumer Price Index (CPI) is

at the top of most investors' minds as they tweak expectations

on the timing and extent of the Federal Reserve's rate-cutting

phase, following robust economic data such as last Friday's

blockbuster employment report.

"The markets are nervous about tomorrow's CPI report and

buying protection (amid) a growing perception that it could be

an uncomfortably high inflation reading," said Michael Green,

chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management in Philadelphia.

"The market is moving to hedge itself."

JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM ), Wells Fargo & Co ( WFC )

and Citigroup Inc ( C/PN ), due to report results on Friday, were

the three constituents in the S&P Banking index to end

lower.

"The financials kick off first-quarter reporting season and

often set the tone," said Bill Northey, senior investment

director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, Billings, Montana. "We

are looking to the cyclical areas as an indicator of the health

of corporate America."

While analysts expect inflation to continue meandering down

toward the U.S. central bank's 2% goal, the National Federation

of Independent Business reported on Tuesday that small business

optimism touched an 11-year low in March, with inflation as the

most pressing concern.

"The continued deterioration of the small business sentiment

index is actually really important," Green added. "It's the same

thing that we've seen in the past couple of cycles where the

larger companies are well protected while small businesses are

under extraordinary pressure."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 9.13 points, or

0.02%, to 38,883.67. The S&P 500 gained 7.52 points, or

0.14%, at 5,209.91 and the Nasdaq Composite added 52.68

points, or 0.32%, at 16,306.64.

Nine the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 closed higher,

with real estate enjoying the largest percentage

gains. Financials were the biggest laggards.

Analysts are expecting aggregate S&P 500 first-quarter

earnings growth of 5.0% year-on-year, down from 7.2% at the

start of the quarter, according to LSEG.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks declined,

tracking falling bitcoin prices. Exchange operator Coinbase

Global ( COIN ) and software company MicroStrategy ( MSTR )

dipped 5.5% and 4.8%, respectively.

Moderna ( MRNA ) was a bright spot, jumping 6.2% after the

drugmaker's individualized cancer vaccine developed with Merck ( MRK )

showed promise in an early-stage trial.

Alphabet Inc's ( GOOG ) shares gained 1.1%, pushing the

company closer toward the $2 trillion market cap threshold.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a

1.44-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.33-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and one new low;

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 77 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.31 billion shares,

compared with the 10.31 billion average for the full session

over the last 20 trading days.