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Intel ( INTC ) up after report of Nvidia ( NVDA ), Broadcom ( AVGO ) collaboration

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Tesla up after Morgan Stanley reinstates stock as 'top

pick'

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Crypto stocks surge after Trump hints at new bitcoin

reserve

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ISM manufacturing PMI at 50.3 in February

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Indexes down: Dow 0.23%, S&P 500 0.18%, Nasdaq 0.36%

(Updates to mid-session trading)

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

March 3 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock indexes

slipped on Monday after data showed that new orders at U.S.

factories fell in February, while investors awaited details on

tariffs on top trading partners that are expected to kick in at

the end of the day.

An ISM survey showed manufacturing was steady in February,

but a measure tracking forward-looking new orders contracted to

48.6 last month from 55.1 in January.

Although, business activity is in expansion territory by a

narrow margin, given the tariff uncertainty in the near term, it

is likely that data will continue to reflect a cooling economy

until there is more clarity on U.S. President Donald Trump's

trade policies, said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill

Capital LLC.

Trump is expected to decide what levels of tariffs he will

impose early on Tuesday on Canada and Mexico amid last-minute

negotiations over border security and efforts to halt the inflow

of fentanyl opioids.

At 11:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 98.69 points, or 0.23%, to 43,742.22, the S&P 500

lost 10.48 points, or 0.18%, to 5,944.02 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 64.37 points, or 0.36%, to 18,780.35.

Technology led declines among the S&P 500's 11

sectors with a 0.9% drop, dragged down by a 4.5% fall in chip

giant Nvidia ( NVDA ).

Defensive sectors such as healthcare and consumer

staples gained about 0.6% each, while cyclical stocks

such as materials and energy dipped after the

data.

Recent reports of softening consumer demand have spurred

fears of a slowdown as markets prepare for higher inflation once

Donald Trump administration's tariff policies take full effect.

Wall Street's main indexes logged their first monthly

decline of 2025 in February, during which the Nasdaq also came

close to a 10% drop from its all-time high due to fears of a

rise in inflation induced by tariffs and other factors.

Trump has also threatened that an extra 10% duty on imports

from China will also take effect on Tuesday, which could spark a

retaliation from Beijing.

U.S-listed shares of Chinese companies fell, with Nio

and JD.com off about 4.5% and 2.4%, respectively.

The Federal Reserve has been cautious on interest rate cuts

in anticipation of sticky inflation, but this week's employment

and business activity data, could change the institution's

outlook.

Traders have dialed up bets on the Fed's 2025 monetary

policy easing cycle to at least two 25 basis points worth of

interest rate cuts by December, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

Tesla rose 3.1% after Morgan Stanley reinstated the

stock as 'top pick' among U.S. autos.

Crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) jumped 3.7%,

Coinbase rose 1.9% after Trump announced a proposed

reserve of digital assets.

Chipmaker Intel rose 3.6% after a report that chip

designers Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Broadcom ( AVGO ) were running

manufacturing tests with the company.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.33-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, while declining issues outnumbered advancers by a

1.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 55 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new highs and 205 new

lows.