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Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) to close nearly 1,000 stores, shares drop

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Intel ( INTC ) down on report Pentagon scraps $2.5 bln chip grant

plan

(Updates to 1600 ET)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) -

U.S. stocks mostly edged lower on Wednesday as investors

took profits in shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ) and other chipmakers, while

they braced for producer price data on Thursday and further

clues on inflation ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting.

An index of semiconductors

eased after

recent strong gains. The index is up roughly 17% for the

year to date.

Investors are looking ahead to a GTC developer conference

from March 18-21 and any announcements related to artificial

intelligence.

Intel ( INTC ) shares fell, with Bloomberg reporting that

the Pentagon had pulled out of a plan to spend as much as $2.5

billion on a chip grant to the company.

February U.S. producer price data due on Thursday could

offer further insight into inflation.

"The last reading actually helped to underscore the

hotter inflation trend. So this is going to be important," said

Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in

Charlotte, North Carolina.

While the U.S. central bank is widely expected to leave

interest rates unchanged during its meeting, traders see a 65%

chance of the first rate cut coming in June, the CME FedWatch

Tool showed.

U.S. retail sales data also is due on Thursday.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

lost 9.66 points, or 0.19%, to end at 5,165.33 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite lost 85.18 points, or 0.52%,

to 16,180.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.68

points, or 0.11%, to 39,046.98.

Tuesday's slightly hotter-than-expected consumer price data

failed to dampen hopes of rate cuts in the coming months.

Among other declining shares, Dollar Tree ( DLTR )

slumped after the discount store chain said it would close

nearly 1,000 stores and posted a net loss in the previous

quarter, hurt by an over-$1 billion goodwill impairment charge.

McDonald's shares fell after its chief financial

officer said the fast-food giant's international sales could

fall sequentially in the current quarter, pressured by the

Middle East conflict and weak demand in China.

(Additional reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M

Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Richard Chang)