* Indexes off: Dow 0.69%, S&P 500 0.17%, Nasdaq 0.14%

* Data-storage stocks gain after Seagate's ( STX ) upbeat

forecast

* Starbucks ( SBUX ) up after lifting forecast

(Updates with afternoon trading)

By Niket Nishant and Utkarsh Hathi

April 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were

subdued on Wednesday as investors treaded carefully ahead of

several Big Tech earnings reports and a Federal Reserve meeting

expected to be the last for Jerome Powell as its Chair.

Amazon ( AMZN ), Meta Platforms ( META ), Microsoft ( MSFT )

and Google-parent Alphabet are set to report after the

closing bell, when investors will gauge how their AI bets are

paying off.

The results could shape investor confidence in one of the

most resilient pockets of the financial markets, after sentiment

was slightly dampened following a Wall Street Journal report

that said OpenAI had missed its internal targets for weekly

users and revenue, reviving fears about the AI spending spree of

tech heavyweights.

Market expectations for earnings growth were "exceedingly

optimistic," said Ron Albahary, chief investment officer at

Laird Norton Wetherby.

"I would worry a little bit about overly excited investors

with higher expectations than might be realized," he added.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index rose 1.8%,

and has gained 41.7% so far this year.

Amazon ( AMZN ) added 1.8%, while Microsoft ( MSFT ) slipped 1%. Meta was flat

and Alphabet rose 0.7%.

At 12:04 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 337.03 points, or 0.69%, to 48,804.90, the S&P 500

lost 12.24 points, or 0.17%, to 7,126.56 and the Nasdaq

Composite dropped 34.20 points, or 0.14%, to 24,629.60.

Ten of the main S&P 500 sectors were in the red. With a 1%

decline, materials was the biggest decliner.

Healthcare stocks also fell 0.7%. GE Healthcare ( GEHC )

was the biggest drag on the sector, dropping 12.8%

after results.

POWELL'S CURTAIN CALL?

Investors will also tune in to what is expected to be Fed

Chair Jerome Powell's final press conference as the head of the

U.S. central bank. Traders expect the central bank to leave

rates unchanged, but will parse Powell's remarks.

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Fed,

cleared a key procedural hurdle on Wednesday as the Senate

Banking Committee voted to advance his nomination to the full

Senate.

The Fed has said it is monitoring risks tied to the

conflict, and with tensions in the Middle East showing few signs

of easing, some investors worry policymakers may have to factor

them more heavily into their outlook.

"While Powell's signals may be taken with some caution,

given that this should be his last press conference, the risks

are that he errs on the hawkish side," wrote ING Economics' FX

strategist Francesco Pesole.

Separately, a White House official said Trump had met with

top officials from Chevron ( CVX ) and other energy companies to

talk about possible steps to calm oil markets if the blockade of

Iranian ports continues for months.

Oil prices were 5.8% higher. Trump has said he is unhappy

with Iran's latest proposal for ending the two-month war, which

would set aside discussion of its nuclear program until the

conflict was concluded and shipping disputes resolved.

Meanwhile, U.S. single-family homebuilding increased to a

13-month high in March, exceeding expectations of economists

polled by Reuters, data showed on Wednesday. Permits for future

construction, however, fell sharply.

Among individual stocks, online brokerage Robinhood Markets ( HOOD )

fell 14% after missing expectations for first-quarter

profit.

Shares of data-storage companies climbed following an upbeat

fourth-quarter forecast from Seagate Technology ( STX ). Seagate ( STX )

jumped 13.8%, while peers Micron Technology ( MU ), Sandisk ( SNDK )

and Western Digital ( WDC ) gained 3%, 8.3%, and 10%,

respectively.

Coffee giant Starbucks ( SBUX ) rose 9.7% after raising its

annual profit forecast.

Payments-processing firms Visa and Mastercard ( MA )

added 8.9% and 3.8%, respectively, after Visa raised its

forecast for full-year earnings.

NXP Semiconductors ( NXPI ) jumped 24.9% after it said it

expects second-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street

expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.67-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.61-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and 23 new

lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 96 new

lows.