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Indexes off: Dow 0.43%, S&P 500 0.76%, Nasdaq 1.26%

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Court hearing of Fed's Cook underway

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US reports solid July consumer spending

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Dell, Marvell ( MRVL ) fall after dour quarterly forecasts

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Caterpillar ( CAT ) falls after forecasting bigger 2025 tariff hit

(Updates with early afternoon prices)

By Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes fell

on Friday, pressured by technology stocks such as Dell and

Nvidia ( NVDA ), while investors parsed inflation data showing tariffs

have started feeding into prices.

Dell fell 8.4% and led declines on the S&P 500

after the personal computer maker forecast quarterly profit

below estimates. The broader technology sector shed

1.7%, cooling down after rallying through the year.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) lost 3.5% and an index tracking chipmakers

slid 2.8%, a day after the AI chip leader's dour China

market expectations disappointed investors accustomed to

blockbuster forecasts from the company.

The spotlight was on a Commerce Department report that

showed the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the

Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, rose 2.6% in July

as expected on an annual basis - above the central bank's 2%

target.

A measure of underlying prices suggested U.S. tariffs on

imports were starting to reflect in the prices of some goods.

The U.S. tariff exemption for package imports valued under

$800 also ended on Friday, raising costs for businesses and, in

turn, consumers.

The in-line numbers did little to change bets that the Fed

will lower interest rates by 25 basis points in September,

especially following Chair Jerome Powell's dovish comments at

Jackson Hole where he acknowledged labor market weakness.

"Even if we see an uptick in inflation, which it looks

like we are, the Fed may look past that, given that this is

going to be tariff-related and temporary," said Jim Smigiel,

chief investment officer at SEI.

"Between now and the next Fed meeting, the employment report

is going to be the most important for both policymakers and

investors."

The nonfarm payrolls report is expected next Friday.

At 12:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 195.30 points, or 0.43%, to 45,441.60, the S&P 500

lost 49.14 points, or 0.76%, to 6,452.72 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 271.42 points, or 1.25%, to 21,433.74.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller, a candidate for the central

bank's top job, said on Thursday he wants to start cutting rates

next month, in line with President Donald Trump's calls to lower

borrowing costs.

Rate-cut bets have put the benchmark S&P 500 and the

blue-chip Dow on track for their fourth straight month of gains,

while the tech-heavy Nasdaq was poised to log its fifth

consecutive monthly rise.

The domestically focused Russell 2000 index has

benefited the most and outperformed the main indexes in August.

It slipped 0.6% on Friday.

Meanwhile, a federal judge said she would fast-track

hearings in Fed Governor Lisa Cook's effort to block Trump from

firing her.

Among others, chipmaker Marvell ( MRVL ) fell 16% after

forecasting quarterly revenue below expectations.

Global economy bellwether Caterpillar ( CAT ) lost 4.5%

after raising its annual estimate for tariff-related costs.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.25-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.78-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 55 new

lows.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)