(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

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US moves towards faster stock settlement

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Nasdaq touches fresh record high

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Apple ( AAPL ) gains on strong iPhone sales in China

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UBS lifts S&P 500's year-end target to Street high of

5,600

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Indexes: Dow down 0.35%, S&P down 0.01%, Nasdaq up 0.32%

(Updated at 10:14 am ET)

By Johann M Cherian and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

May 28 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Tuesday as traders

returned from a holiday-extended weekend, with the focus on key

inflation data later in the week that could influence

expectations for the Federal Reserve's rate-cut path.

The possibility that the world's most influential

central bank could kick off interest-rate cuts this year has

sent Wall Street on a record-breaking rally since late 2023,

with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 marking their fifth

straight week of gains on Friday.

However, expectations for the timing of rate cuts have

see-sawed, with policymakers wary as the data still reflects

sticky inflation.

Market attention now shifts to the U.S. core Personal

Consumption Expenditures Price Index report for April later in

the week. The Fed's preferred inflation barometer is expected to

hold steady on a monthly basis.

Traders see a 51.2% chance the first rate cut could happen

in September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

"The Fed is still in play... real interest rates need to

come down," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh

Capital Partners.

"Overall, inflation is trending down and slowing

inflation will give the Fed cover to lower rates," Forrest said.

The Nasdaq touched a fresh intraday record high, led by

a

4.5

% rise in AI darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) and its fellow chip

stocks. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained

1

%.

The Dow lagged other indexes, dragged by the

healthcare and financial sectors. Healthcare also led the S&P

500 subsector losses.

U.S. trading moves to a shorter settlement on Tuesday, which

regulators hope will reduce risk and improve efficiency, but is

expected to temporarily increase transaction failures for

investors.

Indexes were little changed after the U.S.

Consumer Confidence

report for May was stronger than expected.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in an interview

with CNBC that the U.S. central bank should wait before cutting

interest rates, adding that it could potentially even hike rates

if inflation does not fall further.

At 10:14 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

was down 135.40 points, or 0.35%, at 38,934.19, the S&P 500

was down 0.77 points, or 0.01%, at 5,303.95, and the

Nasdaq Composite was up 54.70 points, or 0.32%, at

16,975.49.

UBS Global Research raised its year-end target for the

benchmark index to 5,600 from an earlier projection of 5,400,

marking the highest forecast among major brokerages.

Apple ( AAPL ) rose 0.9% after iPhone sales in China surged

52% in April from a year earlier, Reuters calculations based on

industry data showed.

Shares of T-Mobile and United States Cellular's ( USM )

rose 1% and 1.4%, respectively, after T-Mobile said it

would buy almost all the regional carrier's wireless operations

in a $4.4 billion deal.

Meme stock GameStop ( GME ) shot up 16.2% after the

videogame retailer said late on Friday it had raised $933

million by selling 45 million shares, as part of an

"at-the-market" offering.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.22-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE

and

by a 1.03-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq

.

The S&P index recorded

18

new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq

recorded

66

new highs and

44

new lows.