Wall St mixed ahead of economic data; CPI in focus
KeyCorp rises; Scotiabank to buy minority stake in co
Starbucks gains after report Starboard takes stake
July CPI data on Wednesday, retail sales on Thursday
Indexes mixed: Dow down 0.36%, Nasdaq up 0.21%, S&P flat
Updates after the close
By Abigail Summerville
Aug 12 (Reuters) - Wall Streetstocks closed mixedon Monday as investors braced for a slew of U.S. economic data this week, especially consumer prices, to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell. The benchmark S&P 500 index and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index closed higher.
The Russell 2000 Index .RUT, focused on small companies, dropped 0.9%.
"The jumping to a rotation towards small cap companies, like the Russell 2000 and cyclicals in general and financials, was a very popular trade a few weeks ago and that's really unwound itself," said James Abate, chief investment officer at Centre Asset Management in New York.
"If you look at the trends in earnings and growth, we don't have a broadening and expanding economy that will support a broadening out yet of growth and stock price appreciation."
Investors are awaiting Wednesday's U.S. consumer price index reading and retailer earnings to assess demand by shoppers.
The CPI data is expected to show headline inflation accelerated 0.2% in July from June, but unchanged at 3% on a year-on-year basis.
Money markets are evenly betting on a 25- or 50-basis-point cut in U.S. interest rates in September, expecting a total easing of 100 bps by the end 2024, CME's FedWatch Tool showed.
Figures for July U.S. retail sales on Thursday are likely to show marginal growth, and investors expect that any weakness in the data could reignite fears of a consumer slowdown and a potential recession.
Walmart WMT.N and Home Depot HD.N are due to report earnings later this week.
"Retail earnings are another indication on the health of the consumer particularly in light of the unemployment rate ticking up in the most recent report," Abate said.
"One thing that could be a significant disappointment to the market is if the CPI number comes out higher than consensus."
The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.23 points to end at 5,344.39 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 35.31 points, or 0.21%, to 16,780.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 140.53 points, or 0.36%, to 39,357.01.
Starbucks SBUX.O rose 2.58% onreports that activist investor Starboard Value, which holds a stake in the coffee giant, wants the company to take steps to improve its stock price.
KeyCorp KEY.N jumped 9.1% afterCanada's Scotiabank BNS.TO bought a minority stake in the U.S. regional lender in an all-stock deal worth $2.8 billion. Hawaiian Electric HE.N dropped 14.45%after the utility firm raised "going concern" doubts.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.54-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and seven new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 51 new highs and 179 new lows.
Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Richard Chang
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