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

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window)

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Indexes: Dow up 0.37%, S&P 500 up 0.05%, Nasdaq down 0.25%

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Kroger ( KR ) gains after lifting annual sales target

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GMS rises on QXO offer

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Accenture ( ACN ) falls as new bookings decreased in Q3

(Updates with afternoon trading levels)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

June 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were

mixed in choppy trading on Friday, as inflation concerns and

uncertainty around U.S. involvement in the Iran-Israel war

offset relief over President Donald Trump holding back from any

immediate action.

Trump will take a call in the next two weeks on whether

to involve the U.S. military in the conflict, the White House

said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle Eastern

countries approached their second week.

Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world

guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift

diplomatic solution to suggesting the U.S. might join the fight

as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear

weapons.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to

discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment. Foreign Minister

Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva to meet European

counterparts who are hoping to establish a path back to

diplomacy.

"Markets are looking for the next bullish catalyst ... until

then, investors are still in wait-and-see mode," said Adam

Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York.

Concerns about price pressures in the U.S. were also in

focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned

inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic

effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept

interest rates unchanged.

On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank

should consider cutting rates at its next meeting given recent

tame inflation data and because any price shock from tariffs

will be short-lived.

At 11:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 154.39 points, or 0.37%, to 42,323.97, the S&P 500

gained 3.14 points, or 0.05%, to 5,984.01 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 49.32 points, or 0.25%, to 19,496.95.

Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Utilities

led sector gains with a 1% rise. On the flip side,

communication services stocks lost 1.2%.

All three main indexes are set for weekly gains.

Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in

volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous

expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and

stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter.

Among megacap stocks, shares of Alphabet fell 2.5%

while Nvidia ( NVDA ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Meta Platforms ( META )

were down about 1% each.

Kroger ( KR ) rose 9.3% after the grocery chain increased

its annual identical sales forecast.

GMS shares rose 28.3% after QXO made an

offer on Wednesday to acquire the company for about $5 billion

in cash. Shares of QXO were up 4.1%.

Accenture ( ACN ) fell 6.3% after the IT services provider

said new bookings decreased in the third quarter.

Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by

a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate

earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its

record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made

investors risk-averse.

The S&P 500 index now remains 2.6% below its record level,

and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 3.4% lower.

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

on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a

1.21-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 55 new lows.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)