(Recasts to reflect preliminary close of trading)

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Fed begins two-day policy meeting

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Oracle shares up on TikTok deal framework reports

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Retail sales rise 0.6% in August vs 0.2% estimate

By Abigail Summerville and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street's three main stock

indexes ended lower in choppy trading on Tuesday as caution set

in ahead of an anticipated interest rate cut from the Federal

Reserve.

Investors are largely still pricing in a 25 basis-point cut

from the U.S. central bank at the conclusion of its two-day

meeting on Wednesday, to offset the deterioration in the U.S.

labor market, evidenced by numerous recent economic indicators.

Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. retail sales increased more

than expected in August, but that did little to change rate cut

expectations.

"Any kind of resilient economic data will only reaffirm the

hawks on the FOMC ... and could give a little bit of fuel for

(Fed Chair Jerome) Powell to come out as slightly more hawkish

than the market is hoping for," said Ross Mayfield, investment

strategist at Baird Private Wealth Management.

Investors also brushed off news that the U.S. Senate confirmed

White House economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Fed Board and

an appeals court rejected President Donald Trump's bid to fire

Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

The S&P 500 utilities and real estate

sectors led declines among peers. The CBOE Volatility Index

climbed to its highest level in more than a week.

Losses in UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) bogged

down the Dow. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares fell after Reuters reported weak

demand in China for its new AI chip.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 9.00

points, or 0.14%, to end at 6,606.28 points, while the Nasdaq

Composite lost 15.60 points, or 0.07%, to 22,333.15. The

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 121.96 points, or

0.27%, to 45,761.49.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at all-time highs on

Monday after hitting intraday records in multiple sessions. The

three main indexes have gained so far in September - a month

traditionally deemed bad for U.S. equities.

Webtoon Entertainment ( WBTN ) soared after a deal with Disney ( DIS )

to create a new digital comics platform to feature

content from Disney's ( DIS ) portfolio, including the Marvel and "Star

Wars" franchises.

Oracle rose after Trump said that the U.S. and China

have a deal that will keep the short-video app TikTok operating

in the U.S. and multiple news outlets, citing sources, said

Oracle is part of the investor consortium.