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Tesla down on report co trims car production in China

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FedEx ( FDX ) jumps on Q3 profit beat

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Nike ( NKE ) falls after revenue forecast disappoints

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Indexes: Dow down 0.03%, S&P up 0.01%, Nasdaq down 0.06%

(Updated at 9:37 a.m. ET/1337 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan

March 22 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main stock indexes struggled for direction on

Friday, though they were on track for strong weekly gains as

investors cheered the Federal Reserve's rate-easing stance.

All three main U.S. indexes hit fresh record closing highs

on Thursday as chip stocks rallied after Micron Technology's

upbeat forecast and the Fed signaled it was still on track for

three interest-rate cuts this year.

Traders now see a 71% chance of the first rate cut hitting

in June, from 56% at the start of this week, according to the

CME's FedWatch Tool.

"With summer rate cuts now becoming somewhat more certain

and a further recovery in bond yields looking unlikely,

policymakers have provided fresh impetus to the bull market,"

said Raffi Boyadjian, lead investment analyst at XM.

Investors will also be closely monitoring commentary from a

host of central bankers expected later in the day for further

cues on the central bank's monetary policy trajectory.

The blue-chip Dow ended Thursday less than 1% away

from its first-ever 40,000-mark. Along with the benchmark S&P

500, the Dow was on track to its best weekly performance

so far this year.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was set to notch

its best week since mid-January.

At 9:37 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was

down 10.58 points, or 0.03%, at 39,770.79, the S&P 500

was up 0.66 points, or 0.01%, at 5,242.19, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 9.50 points, or 0.06%, at 16,392.33.

Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower,

with consumer discretionary down 1.0%.

Most rate-sensitive megacap growth and technology stocks

eased in early trading.

Tesla led losses, down 3.3%, following a report

that the EV maker has reduced car production at its plant in

China.

Nevertheless, the EV maker and many of the other market

leaders were set for strong weekly gains. The Philadelphia

Semiconductor Index has gained nearly 3% so far this

week.

Nike ( NKE ) shed 8.0% after the world's largest sportswear

maker warned that its revenue in the first half of fiscal 2025

would shrink by a low-single-digit percentage, as it scales back

on franchises to save costs.

Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) forecast annual revenue and

profit below expectations as demand wanes for the apparel

retailer's premium athleisure, mainly in North America, sending

its shares tumbling 14.8%.

FedEx ( FDX ) jumped 8.7% after the company beat Wall Street

expectations for quarterly profit and operating margin in the

parcel delivery firm's largest unit, Express, rose 2.5% in the

February fiscal quarter from 1.2% a year ago.

Digital World Acquisition ( DWAC ) gained 4.4% ahead of its

shareholders' vote to approve the blank-check firm's merger with

former U.S. President Donald Trump's media and technology

company.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.21-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and for a 1.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 37 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and 23 new lows.