(There will be no US equities report on Friday on account of

Good Friday. Reuters will resume coverage on Monday, April 1.)

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Semiconductor index set to end Q1 up over 17%

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US fourth-quarter growth revised up; weekly jobless claims

fall

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Indexes: Dow down 0.02%, S&P up 0.11%, Nasdaq down 0.01%

(Updated at 11:21 a.m. ET/ 1521 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Bansari Mayur Kamdar

March 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes

struggled for direction on Thursday in lean trading ahead of

Easter break, while investors awaited data to gauge the Federal

Reserve's policy path on the last business day of a strong first

quarter.

The three main U.S. indexes were set for robust quarterly

gains, with the S&P 500 on track for its best first

quarter performance since 2019, as an AI-fueled rally and

optimism around the timing of the Fed's rate cuts helped lift

Wall Street to record highs this month.

At current levels, the blue-chip Dow is less than 1%

away from the 40,000-mark, a level it has never breached.

Meanwhile, data on Thursday showed the U.S. economy grew

faster than previously estimated in the fourth quarter, while a

separate report showed initial claims for state unemployment

benefits fell 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 210,000 for the

week ended March 23.

"We ultimately anticipate a slower pace of economic growth

this year as the labor market moderates and dents purchasing

power, as households have become increasingly dependent on

income," said economists at Wells Fargo.

"But elevated margins, a still-decent cash position for

many firms and the likelihood of falling borrowing costs in the

second half of the year will likely support capital expenditures

and firms' profitability generally."

Heading into the long weekend, focus will also be on the

Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), the Fed's

preferred inflation gauge, which is due on Good Friday, when the

U.S. stock market will be shut.

Overnight, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said recent

disappointing inflation data affirms the case for the central

bank to hold off on cutting its short-term interest rate target,

but did not rule out trimming rates later in the year.

Traders see a 64% chance the Fed will begin its easing cycle

in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

At 11:21 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

was down 8.46 points, or 0.02%, at 39,751.62, the S&P 500

was up 5.65 points, or 0.11%, at 5,254.14, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 1.01 points, or 0.01%, at 16,398.51.

Three of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors declined, with

communication services slipping. The rate-sensitive

sector has been the best performer so far this quarter, along

with technology stocks

Keeping gains in check on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, most

megacap growth stocks slipped, with Tesla leading

losses, down 1.7%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index inched 0.3% up

and was on track to end its second straight quarter of

double-digit gains, up over 17% so far.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies advanced as

bitcoin recovered after a two-day slide. Exchange operator

Coinbase Global ( COIN ), blockchain farm operator Bitfarms

and crypto miner Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) rose between

2.9% and 7.6%.

Estee Lauder ( EL ) jumped 5.5% after BofA Global

Research upgraded the cosmetics giant's rating to "buy" from

"neutral".

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.74-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.89-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 81 new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq recorded 113 new highs and 28 new lows.