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Constellation Brands ( STZ ) jumps after Berkshire discloses stake

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Intel ( INTC ) up after report Broadcom ( AVGO ), TSMC eye deals to split it

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Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ) gains after JPM upgrades to 'overweight'

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Indexes: Dow down 0.22%, S&P 500 up 0.10%, Nasdaq up 0.17%

(Updates for market open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta

Feb 18 (Reuters) -

Wall Street main indexes were muted on Tuesday as investors

braced for potential tariff developments and sought insights

into the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates after

monthly data released last week showed retail sales had tumbled.

Minutes from the central bank's January meeting, where it

held interest rates unchanged, are due on Wednesday.

On Monday, Fed Governor

Christopher Waller

said that his "baseline" view was that U.S. President

Donald Trump's new trade restrictions would have only a modest

impact on prices, while Philadelphia Fed President

Patrick Harker

supported a steady interest-rate policy stance for now.

Hawkish commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week

along with a batch of mixed data, including weaker-than-expected

retail sales that caused Treasury yields to retreat, has led to

uncertainty over what the Fed's strategy will be vis-à-vis

borrowing costs this year.

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

and a 54% chance of an additional lowering by December,

according to LSEG data.

"I don't think the Fed wants a policy mistake by cutting

rates too early, because if they do, the unintended consequence

would certainly be that inflation would turn around," said

Philip Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.

Wall Street's main stock indexes clocked weekly gains in the

midst of a choppy period for global markets last week as Trump's

imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, along with

his plans for reciprocal tariffs, sparked volatility.

Meanwhile, global risk-taking was boosted by speculations of

a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine as Russian and U.S.

officials met for bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

At 09:57 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 99.35 points, or 0.22%, to 44,444.83, the S&P 500

gained 5.87 points, or 0.10%, to 6,120.62, and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 33.71 points, or 0.17%, to 20,060.48.

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

communication services leading declines with a 0.9%

fall, while technology led gains with a 0.5% rise.

A 2.2% drop in UnitedHealth ( UNH ) weighed on the

blue-chip Dow.

Earnings season will thin out this week, with more than 380

of the S&P 500 companies having reported quarterly results.

Retail giant Walmart's ( WMT ) earnings, a bellwether to

gauge how the American consumer is faring, are due later this

week.

Megacap and growth stocks were mixed, although Nvidia

outpaced the pack with a 1.9% advance.

Intel ( INTC ) rose 6.6% after a report over the weekend

said rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSM ) and

Broadcom ( AVGO ) was each eyeing potential deals that could

break the chipmaking icon in two.

Constellation Brands ( STZ ) jumped 5.4% after Warren

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) disclosed a new investment

in the alcoholic beverages producer on Friday.

Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ) advanced 7.4% after J.P.Morgan

upgraded its rating on the beauty and skincare company to

"overweight".

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.18-to-1

ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

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

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 86 new highs and 50

new lows.