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November retail sales stronger than expected

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Tesla gains as Mizuho raises rating

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Pfizer ( PFE ) up after in-line 2025 profit forecast

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Indexes down: Dow 0.53%, S&P 500 0.47%, Nasdaq 0.48%

(Updates after markets open)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal

Dec 17 (Reuters) -

Technology stocks weighed on Wall Street on Tuesday, as

investors grew cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest

rate decision this week following a stronger-than-expected

retail sales reading.

U.S. retail sales

increased

more than expected in November amid an acceleration in

motor vehicle purchases, consistent with strong underlying

momentum in the economy as the year winds down.

"It's just further evidence that at an aggregate level,

the U.S. consumer is still in great shape ... that just proves

that the U.S. economy is on strong footing," said Eric Sterner,

chief investment officer for Apollon Wealth Management.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield inched

higher, hovering near a three-week high of 4.428% and

pressuring rate-sensitive equities, as market bets strengthened

on a more cautious Fed in 2025.

At 9:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 231.55 points, or 0.53%, to 43,487.22, the S&P 500

lost 28.68 points, or 0.47%, to 6,045.40 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 97.40 points, or 0.48%, to 20,078.88.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's "fear

gauge", rose above 15 for the first time in nearly three weeks.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were lower with energy

stocks down 1.6%, while financials and

information technology followed with a 0.9% and 0.6%

loss respectively.

Rate-sensitive megacap and growth stocks were mixed,

with Nvidia ( NVDA ) in the lead, down 3.5% and Amazon.com ( AMZN )

losing 1.2%.

Tesla was up marginally after Mizuho upgraded

the electric-vehicle maker's stock to "outperform" from

"neutral" and hiked its price target by $285 to $515.

"This will be the second year in a row of the S&P

delivering returns of over 20%. And that's only a third time

that's happened in the last century, so I think there's some

profit taking," Sterner said.

Market focus stayed on the Fed's monetary policy

decision on Wednesday where a 25 basis point cut is all but

priced in, and the "dot plot" with policymakers' rate

forecasts

will be high up on investors' radar.

However, traders increasingly expect the central bank to

more cautious in 2025, as economic indicators point to continued

resilience and inflation remains persistent.

Wall Street saw a fairly strong session on Monday, where the

Nasdaq closed at a record high and the S&P 500

gained ground.

Still, U.S. stocks remain on track to end December on a

positive note with the S&P 500 set for its best year since 2019

with an over 27% year-to-date rise, powered by gains in

technology companies, Fed rate cuts and optimism on the impact

of Trump's corporate policies.

Crypto-focused stocks continued to rally as bitcoin

surpassed $107,000. MARA Holdings ( MARA ) gained 1.8% and Riot

Platforms ( RIOT ) rose 1.4%.

Pfizer ( PFE ) gained 4.1% after the drugmaker forecast 2025

profit roughly in line with Wall Street expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.38-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.33-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and 16 new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 71

new lows.