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Nikola ( NKLA ) falls after filing for bankruptcy protection

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Payments processor Shift4 to buy Global Blue ( GB ) in $2.5-bln

deal

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Indexes down: Dow 0.33%, S&P 500 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.26%

(Updates for market open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta

Feb 19 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes dipped and the S&P 500 came off

record highs on Wednesday as investors assessed U.S. President

Donald Trump's latest tariff threats and awaited minutes from

the central bank's January meeting.

Trump said on Tuesday that he intended to impose auto

tariffs "in the neighborhood of 25%", along with similar duties

on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports.

Since his inauguration in January, Trump has imposed a

10% tariff on all imports from China, on top of existing levies.

He also announced and delayed for a month 25% duties on goods

from Mexico and non-energy imports from Canada.

"Talking about tariffs is not the same as implementing

tariffs, and I think we've seen a lot of talk over the past

month or so and not a lot on the implementation side of things,"

said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz

Investment Management.

Trump's tariffs have raised concerns, with fears that

they would fuel inflation in the U.S. and weigh on the Federal

Reserve's stance on rate cuts this year.

Minutes of the U.S. central bank's January policy

meeting - where voting members elected to let

interest rates stand and Fed Chair Jerome Powell said there

would be no rush to cut them again until inflation and jobs data

made it appropriate - are scheduled to be released at 2 p.m. ET.

"With the risk of inflation moving higher as well as

where financial conditions are, the Fed is really not in a hurry

to cut rates," Ripley said.

Investors will look for hints on the Fed's rate plans for

the year in the minutes, in light of last week's mixed consumer

and producer prices data coupled with a sharp drop in retail

sales, which had sent Treasury yields lower.

Traders currently see at least one 25-basis-point rate cut

and a more than 45% chance of an additional lowering by

December, according to LSEG data.

At 09:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 148.73 points, or 0.33%, to 44,407.61, the S&P 500

lost 13.62 points, or 0.22%, to 6,115.96, and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 52.11 points, or 0.26%, to 19,989.15.

Eight of the S&P 500's 11 sectors traded lower, with

materials leading declines with a 1.1% fall, while

energy was the highest gainer with a 1.3% rise, tracking

rising

oil prices.

Nikola ( NKLA ) plunged 36.2% after saying it had filed

for Chapter 11

bankruptcy protection.

Specialty chemicals company Celanese lost 22.2% after

reporting a quarterly loss.

Payments processor Shift4 fell 11.9% after its

fourth-quarter results and news that the company has agreed to

buy Global Blue ( GB ) in a deal valued at $2.5 billion. Shares

of Global Blue ( GB ) jumped 17.6%.

Analog Devices ( ADI ) gained 3.4% after the chipmaker

beat first-quarter profit and revenue estimates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.28-to-1

ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.8-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and four new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 59

new lows.