S&P 500, Nasdaq dip as interest rate concerns, earnings weigh
United Airlines gains on upbeat Q2 profit forecast
Travelers falls after Q1 profit miss
Indexes: Dow up 0.03%, S&P off 0.34%, Nasdaq 0.74%
Updated at 2:30 p.m. ET/ 1830 GMT
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors assessed the Federal Reserve's interest rate stance and a batch of soft earnings early in the financial reporting season.
Travelers TRV.N tumbled7.45% as one of the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and largest on the Dow Industrials after the insurance giantmissed Wall Street expectations for first-quarter profit.
Also weighing on the benchmark S&P index after quarterly results were Prologis PLD.N, with the warehouse-focused real estate investment trust down 6.25%, and Abbott Laboratories ABT.N, which fell 2.98% aftertopping quarterly estimates but disappointing onits annual forecast.
Equities have struggled after a strong first-quarter rally, with the S&P 500 on track for its fourth straight session of declines and third straight weekly loss as investors have dialed back expectations for the timing and size of the Fed's rate cuts.
On Tuesday, U.S. central bank officials including Fed Chair Jerome Powellbacked away from providing guidance on when rates may be cut, saying instead that monetary policy needs to be restrictive for longer.
"The markets are dealing with a couple things - inflation is hotter than most expect, rate cut expectations are coming down and we've had a ramp higher in geopolitical tensions, particularly out of the Middle East," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Troy, Michigan.
"It's just an excuse for traders to kind of move to the sidelines and markets to kind of take a breath after a really, really strong five months of gains."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 11.92 points, or 0.03%, to 37,810.89. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 16.98 points, or 0.34%, at 5,034.47 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC fell118.51 points, or 0.74%, to 15,747.35.
Fed Board Governor Michelle Bowman and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester are scheduled to speak later in the day.
The Fed's Beige Book survey of economic activityshowed a slight expansion from late February through early April and companies feared that progress in lowering inflation would stall.
After market participants began to largely price in a June cut from the Fed, expectations for a cut of at least 25 basis points have shriveled to 16.8%, and for a July cut to 46%,CME's FedWatch Tool showed.
Stocks pared losses as U.S. Treasury yieldseased further fromthe previous day's multi-month highs following a strong auction of 20-year bonds US20YT=RR, with the 10-year note US10YT=RR last around 4.58%.
On the bright side,United Airlines UAL.O surged 16.05% after it forecaststronger-than-expected current-quarter numbers, helping to boost the NYSE Arca airline index .XAL by 3.45%.
JB Hunt Transport Services JBHT.O slumped 8.63% after the trucking firm missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter results.
U.S. Bancorp USB.N dropped3.43% after the lender cut its forecast for full-year interest income and reported a 22% fall in first-quarter profit.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.3-to-1 ratioon the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 1.11 to 1.
The NYSE recorded 18new 52-week highs and 87 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 25 newhighs and 196 new lows.
Travelers Companies earnings https://reut.rs/49EBkUK
Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Richard Chang
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