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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 down: Dow 0.35%, S&P 0.30%, Nasdaq 0.17%

(Updates to 14:10 EDT)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) -

Wall Street turned lower 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 mood soured by mid-morning as all three major U.S.

stock indexes turned modestly red, led by the blue-chip Dow

Jones Industrial Average.

"Equity markets are marking time between major

macroeconomic data points and the beginning of first-quarter

reporting season," Bill Northey, senior investment director at

U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Billings, Montana. "We're still

very close to all-time highs in equity markets and this is

primarily a pause in advance of those key data points."

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

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

the three heaviest drags on the S&P Banking index which

was down 0.5%.

"The financials kick off first-quarter reporting season and

often set the tone," Northey added. "We are looking to the

cyclical areas as an indicator of the health of corporate

America."

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.

While analysts expect inflation is continuing to meander

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.

At 2:10 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 135.9 points, or 0.35%, to 38,756.9, the S&P 500

lost 15.63 points, or 0.30%, to 5,186.76 and the Nasdaq

Composite dropped 26.98 points, or 0.17%, to 16,226.97.

Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, financials

were down the most, while real estate enjoyed the

biggest percentage increase.

Analysts are expecting aggregate S&P 500 first-quarter

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

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks declined,

tracking falling bitcoin prices. Exchange operator Coinbase

Global ( COIN ) and software company MicroStrategy ( MSTR )

dipped 5.0% and 5.8%, respectively.

Moderna ( MRNA ) was a bright spot, jumping 5.8% after the

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

showed promise in an early-stage trial.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a

1.10-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.16-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and one new low; the

Nasdaq Composite recorded 51 new highs and 64 new lows.