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August producer prices slightly above estimates

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Moderna ( MRNA ) tumbles after dour FY25 revenue forecast

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Indexes: Dow down 0.13%, S&P 500 up 0.18%, Nasdaq up 0.43%

(Updated at 11:19 a.m. ET/1519 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

Sept 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were

mixed in choppy trading on Thursday after higher-than-expected

producer prices data kept a smaller 25-basis point rate cut by

the Fed firmly on the table, while Moderna ( MRNA ) slumped following a

downbeat revenue forecast.

The producer price index (PPI) for final demand rose 0.2% in

August, compared with estimates of 0.1% growth. The core number,

which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3%,

higher than the 0.2% forecast.

Separately, initial claims for state unemployment benefits

stood at 230,000 for the week ended Sept. 7, in line with

estimates.

"With PPI basically repeating yesterday's CPI reading and

in-line jobless claims, the decks have been cleared for the Fed

to kick off a rate-cutting cycle," said Chris Larkin, managing

director of trading and investing at E*TRADE from Morgan

Stanley.

Meanwhile, Moderna's ( MRNA ) shares dropped 16.8% to their

lowest intraday level since November. They were the biggest

decliner on the S&P 500 after the vaccine maker forecast sales

between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion next year, below analysts'

estimates.

A string of weakening employment and economic growth data

over the past few weeks had led to rising bets on a

larger-than-usual 50-bps interest rate reduction from the U.S.

central bank, but those expectations have largely faded.

Following Thursday's data and the inflation report in the

previous session, traders now see an 85% chance of the Federal

Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 bps when it meets on Sept.

17-18, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. It would be the first

rate cut since March 2020.

"The discussion will soon turn to how far and fast the Fed

is likely to trim rates over time," E*TRADE's Larkin added.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.15 points,

or 0.13%, to 40,819.56, the S&P 500 gained 10.41 points,

or 0.18%, to 5,563.98, and the Nasdaq Composite gained

78.96 points, or 0.43%, to 17,470.76.

Most of the S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by

communication services' 1.2% rise. Energy stocks

also rose more than 1%.

The more economically sensitive small-cap Russell 2000

meanwhile outperformed, rising 0.9%.

Among other stocks, Micron Technology ( MU ) dropped 4.2%

after a report that Exane BNP Paribas downgraded the chipmaker's

shares to "underperform" from "outperform".

Kroger ( KR ) gained 6.5% after the supermarket chain beat

estimates for second-quarter results and raised the lower end of

its annual sales forecast.

Shares of gold miners jumped as spot gold hit a

record high, with the Arca Gold BUGS index up more than

5%.

Chemicals maker Dow slipped 1.3% after lowering its

third-quarter revenue forecast due to an unplanned event at one

of its plants in Texas.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2.34-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and a 1.4-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and no new low,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 58 new

lows.