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

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

*

Google-parent Alphabet down on potential DOJ action

*

Boeing ( BA ) falls after talks with union halted

*

Fed minutes due at 2:00 p.m. ET

*

Indexes: Dow up 0.35%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq down 0.25%

(Updated at 9:45 a.m. ET/1345 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Pranav Kashyap

Oct 9 (Reuters) -

The main indexes were mixed in choppy trading on Wednesday

as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest

meeting, while Alphabet shares dipped after the U.S. said it was

considering breaking up Google.

Shares of Alphabet were down 0.2% in early trading

after the U.S. Department of Justice said it may ask a judge to

force Google to divest parts of its business, including the

Chrome browser and Android operating system, to curtail its

search monopoly.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148.23 points,

or 0.35%, to 42,228.60, the S&P 500 gained 0.51 points,

or 0.01%, to 5,751.59 and the Nasdaq Composite lost

45.09 points, or 0.25%, to 18,137.82, lagging the other two main

indexes.

"(This is) just a reflection of how super-sized Big Tech has

become. Any uncertainty there will feature into the rest of the

market," said Ben Laidler, head of equity strategy at Bradesco

BBI.

Trading has been choppy this week, with investors

adjusting their rate-cut expectations, seeking new catalysts for

a clearer market direction. Their attention will now turn to

crucial inflation data on Thursday and the upcoming

third-quarter corporate earnings season.

Minutes from the Fed's September meeting, when policymakers

kicked off monetary policy easing with a 50-basis-point rate

cut, are due at 2:00 p.m. ET.

"We expect the FOMC minutes and tomorrow's CPI to be

reassuring and calm these market nerves around the ability of

the Fed to keep cutting interest rates," Laidler said.

Commentary from a number of Fed officials including Philip

Jefferson and Thomas Barkin are also expected through the day.

Investors are overwhelmingly pricing in a 25-basis-point

reduction in borrowing costs at the Fed's November meeting, with

some now seeing a slight chance the central bank will keep rates

on hold, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Prior to the release of strong employment data last week,

markets were leaning towards an outsized 50-bps cut in November.

Among single stocks, Boeing ( BA ) lost 3.1% after talks

between the company and its key manufacturing union broke down.

Shares of Arcadium Lithium ( ARLTF ) soared 30.5% after Rio

Tinto said it would acquire the miner for $6.7 billion.

Shares of Goldman Sachs rose 1.1%, helping the Dow

outperform other indexes, while Financials stocks were

the biggest S&P 500 sector gainers.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms dropped as investors

continued to question if China would announce new stimulus

measures.

Alibaba Group fell 2.3%, PDD Holdings ( PDD ) lost

2.7% and JD.Com dropped 3.5%.

Additionally, investors were keeping a watch on the

potential impact from Category 5 Hurricane Milton as well as the

escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.04-to-1

ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 29 new highs and 51

new lows.