(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

*

Indexes: Dow up 0.54%, S&P 500 down 0.07%, Nasdaq down

0.33%

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Workday rises after Elliott builds a more than $2 bln

stake

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Report says China asked tech firms not to buy Nvidia's ( NVDA ) AI

chips

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Lyft ( LYFT ) jumps on news of partnership with Waymo for Nashville

cabs

(Updates after markets open)

By Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 17 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were mixed in choppy trading on

Wednesday, with the S&P 500 muted ahead of a widely expected

interest-rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the

day.

The central bank is expected to reduce borrowing costs by at

least 25 basis points at 2 p.m. ET, a move priced in by

investors after a series of economic indicators showed a

weakening labor market.

Markets will closely watch Chair Jerome Powell's speech as

well as the "dot plot" projections to gauge the monetary policy

outlook ahead.

Traders are expecting a rate cut totaling about 68 bps by

the end of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

"The labor market has suffered quite a bit lately and the

symbolism of what the Fed publishes in terms of where they see

things going is going to be either buoying to the market, or

disheartening," said Jill Gateman, co-head of U.S. Commercial

Banking at TD Bank.

"It is going to magnify much more than any rate

reduction."

Meanwhile, Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 2.3% after a report said

China's internet regulator had instructed the country's biggest

tech companies to stop buying all of the AI leader's chips.

The stock weighed on the S&P 500 technology sector

, which was down 0.7%, and dragged on the tech-heavy

Nasdaq.

A rise in financial stocks such as American Express ( AXP )

and Goldman Sachs ( GS ) boosted the Dow.

At 10:08 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 249.20 points, or 0.54%, to 46,007.10, the S&P 500

lost 4.69 points, or 0.07%, to 6,602.07, and the Nasdaq

Composite fell 73.47 points, or 0.33%, to 22,259.64.

A 1.6% decline in Tesla weighed on the consumer

discretionary sector, which fell 0.6%.

The Fed meeting will be a test of Wall Street's recent

rally, supported by rate-cut expectations and revived enthusiasm

around AI-stock-linked trading. Investors say the resumption of

Fed rate cuts could add to the rally.

Concerns about the central bank's independence seem to

have eased slightly, with economic adviser Stephen Miran sworn

in as a Fed Governor on Tuesday and an appeals court rejecting

U.S. President Donald Trump's bid to sack Governor Lisa Cook.

The three main indexes have gained so far in September, a

month deemed historically bad for U.S. equities. The benchmark

S&P 500 has shed 1.5% on average in the month since 2000, data

compiled by LSEG showed.

In other stocks, New Fortress Energy ( NFE ) soared 31.7%

after the company reached an agreement to supply liquefied

natural gas to the Puerto Rican government.

Workday gained 9%, to top the benchmark index after

activist investor Elliott Management said on Tuesday it had

built a stake of more than $2 billion in the human resources

software provider.

Lyft ( LYFT ) jumped 14% on the news that Alphabet's

Waymo would launch autonomous cab rides in Nashville

next year in

collaboration

with the ride-hailing firm.

Shares in rival Uber ( UBER ) fell 4.4%, landing at the

bottom of the S&P 500.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.09-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.83-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 56 new highs and 18 new

lows.