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Unemployment rate rises to 3.9%, wage gains moderate

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Broadcom ( AVGO ) down as FY forecast fails to impress

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Marvell ( MRVL ) falls on weak Q1 earnings forecast

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Indexes: Dow up 0.20%, S&P off 0.31%, Nasdaq down 0.71%

(Updated prices at 02:25 ET/ 1925 GMT)

By Sinéad Carew and Bansari Mayur Kamdar

March 8 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's two major indexes turned red on Friday with

Nasdaq leading losses as high-flying chip stocks went into

reverse and a labor market report showed that while employers

added more jobs than expected the unemployment rate unexpectedly

rose.

The S&P and Nasdaq briefly hit intraday record highs but

started to lose steam late morning.

After rising more than 5% and hitting a record high ,

artificial intelligence chip darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell more

than 5%, leading losses among megacap growth and technology

peers. It had closed higher for the previous 6 sessions.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was last down

more than 3%, after rising to hit an intraday record. In that

index, Broadcom ( AVGO ) slid more than 5% after its full-year

forecast failed to impress investors and Marvell Technology ( MRVL )

shed 10%% it forecast first-quarter results below

market expectations on soft demand.

Data showed U.S. job growth accelerated in February, with

nonfarm payrolls increasing by 275,000 jobs against an expected

200,000 rise. Data for January, however, was revised lower to

show that 229,000 jobs were created.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February after holding

at 3.7% for three straight months, while wage growth slowed to

0.1% on a monthly basis.

"People may be taking some chips off the table. We've had a

decent run. Some of the technology names had moved up quite a

bit," said Charlie Ripley, Senior Investment Strategist for

Allianz Investment Management.

"When you've markets which have run up as much as this

has since the start of the year, with returns coming in a strong

as they have, these types of pull backs are healthy to see."

At 02:25 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 75.65 points, or 0.20% , to 38,867.00, the S&P 500

lost 16.05 points, or 0.31%, to 5,141.31 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 115.39 points, or 0.71%, to 16,157.99.

The biggest loser among the S&P 500's 11 major sectors

was technology, down 1%, while the biggest gainer was

real estate, up 1.3%.

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the

central bank was "not far" from gaining the confidence that

inflation is falling sufficiently to begin cutting interest

rates.

Lindsey Bell, chief strategist at 248 Ventures in

Charlotte, NC said the labor report "kind of solidifies what

Chair Powell was saying this week, about the confidence he had

in the potential to begin the rate cutting cycle this year."

"So the market should be pleased with this report," she

said.

Investors will focus next week on February data including

consumer prices (CPI) and retail sales for more cues on the

prospects for potential rate cuts.

Gap climbed 4.5% after the retailer beat Wall Street

expectations for fourth-quarter results, buoyed by strong demand

on improved product offerings at its Old Navy and namesake

brands during the holiday season, and lower markdowns.

Costco Wholesale ( COST ) eased more than 7% as quarterly

sales fell short of estimates due to tepid demand for

higher-margin goods.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.4-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE where there were 657 new highs and 43 new lows.

On the Nasdaq 2,206 stocks rose and 1,988 fell as

advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about a 1.11-to-1

ratio. The S&P 500 posted 63 new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq recorded 339 new highs and 76 new lows.