*

Fed officials: tariffs to boost inflation, slow growth

this year

*

Expedia ( EXPE ) falls after soft US travel demand leads to revenue

miss

*

Trump suggests 80% tariffs on Chinese goods, currently at

145%

*

Indexes down: Dow 0.25%, S&P 500 0.04%, Nasdaq 0.02%

(Updates to afternoon US trading)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) -

U.S. stocks held close to the unchanged mark on Friday,

alternating between modest gains and declines, as investors

gauged President Donald Trump's comments on Chinese tariffs

ahead of weekend trade talks between the two countries.

Trump said Beijing should open its market to the U.S.

and that setting 80% tariffs on Chinese goods "seems right." The

comments marked his first specific suggestion in a change for

the levies, currently at 145%.

Representatives from the U.S. and China are to meet in

Switzerland over the weekend to discuss tariffs, which investors

hope will mark a first step towards ratcheting down a trade war

that has sparked concerns over global economic growth and

resurgent inflation.

"China is the main focus, and that is the one where the

consequences are largest because of long-term trade practices

that really need to be improved," said Russell Price, chief

economist at Ameriprise in Troy, Michigan.

"It could go either way, because at least they're in the

same room together. So regardless of whether we see that as just

to get to know you a little bit better or to make some progress

on an actual deal remains to be seen, but it could go either

way."

While many saw the discussions this weekend as being of

a more preliminary nature, Trump said on Thursday he expects

substantive talks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 104.25 points,

or 0.25%, to 41,264.20, the S&P 500 lost 2.05 points, or

0.04%, to 5,661.89 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 3.12

points, or 0.02%, to 17,925.02.

Each of the three indexes was on pace for slight weekly

declines.

Markets have been volatile since Trump first announced a

slew of tariffs on countries around the globe on April 2 but

have rebounded to near levels seen just before the duties were

announced, in part due to solid corporate earnings.

Of the 450 S&P 500 components that reported earnings

through Friday morning, about 76% of S&P 500 companies topped

analyst expectations. But many have also cut or withdrawn their

forecasts due to the uncertain trade environment.

On Thursday, Wall Street's main indexes closed higher as

investors cheered a trade deal struck between Britain and the

U.S., the first of its kind since Trump announced a 90-day pause

to his tariffs. However, a 10% baseline tariff on goods imported

from the UK into the U.S. remained in place.

Reuters reported India had offered to slash its tariff

gap with the U.S. to less than 4% from nearly 13% now, in

exchange for an exemption from Trump's tariffs, according to

sources.

Energy, up 1.1%, led gains among the 11 S&P 500

sectors as oil prices rose on optimism ahead of the talks.

Days after the Federal Reserve left interest rates

unchanged, Fed policymakers pointed to increasing economic risks

from Trump's tariffs, echoing comments from Chair Jerome Powell

at the meeting earlier this week.

Expedia ( EXPE ) slumped 7.5% after the online travel

platform missed quarterly revenue estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.46-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE while declining issues outnumbered advancers by a

1.04-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

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

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 77 new

lows.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, additional reporting by Purvi

Agarwal and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru;)