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Crypto-related stocks drop as bitcoin falls

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Most chip stocks under pressure, Nvidia ( NVDA ) falls

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Indexes: Dow up 0.52%, S&P up 0.04%, Nasdaq down 0.26%

(Updated at 11:35 a.m. ET/1535 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan

March 19 (Reuters) -

The tech-laden Nasdaq dipped on Tuesday with chip stocks

falling to more than two-week lows, while the benchmark S&P 500

was subdued as focus turned to the Federal Reserve's policy

meeting.

Investor darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 1.5% after the company

unveiled the Blackwell B200, an AI chip it says is up to 30

times faster than its previous chip. Some investors suggested

the news was priced into the high-flying stock.

Nvidia ( NVDA ), which has cornered 80% of the AI chip market, is

expected to provide more details on pricing at its presentation

later in the day.

Fellow chipmakers such as Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ),

Marvell Technology ( MRVL ) and Intel ( INTC ) shed between 2.3%

and 6.1%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index

dipped 2.1% to its lowest since Feb. 29.

"It is profit taking from the Nvidia ( NVDA ) conference ...

wherever Nvidia ( NVDA ) goes these chips are going," said Dennis Dick, a

trader at Triple D Trading.

"They are getting hit hard today but let's put it in

perspective, it's been a pretty good year for a lot of these

stocks."

At 11:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 203.55 points, or 0.52%, at 38,993.98, the S&P 500

was up 2.21 points, or 0.04%, at 5,151.63, and the Nasdaq

Composite was down 42.25 points, or 0.26%, at 16,061.19.

Four of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading were

lower, while Tesla and Meta Platforms ( META ) eased

more than 1% each, lagging most megacap growth stocks.

Meanwhile, Dow outpaced its Wall Street peers, supported

by gains in Home Depot ( HD ) and McDonald's.

All three major stock indexes finished higher in the

previous session, with the Nasdaq bouncing back from two

successive small weekly losses as growth stocks such as Alphabet

and Tesla boosted the tech-heavy index.

Focus will remain on U.S. central bankers who are expected

to hold rates steady at the end of their two-day meeting on

Wednesday.

But, investors are concerned that their new economic

projections may be a wild card.

"The 'dot plot', meanwhile, might show FOMC (Federal

Open Market Committee) members' concerns that inflation remains

higher than expected, and thus push forward rate cuts, until

greater disinflation must be achieved," said Naomi Fink, global

strategist at Nikko Asset Management.

Robust inflation data has pushed traders to pull back bets

of the first rate cut coming in June to 59.4% from 71% at the

start of last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Among other movers, crypto-exchange operator Coinbase Global ( COIN )

and miners Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) and Marathon Digital

Holdings ( MARA ) shed between 4.8% and 6.5%, tracking the sharp

slide in bitcoin.

AI server maker Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) dropped 10.9%

after announcing that it will sell 2 million shares that could

fetch about $2 billion.

Spire Global ( SPIR ) jumped 28.6% after the company

announced a collaboration with Nvidia ( NVDA ) for AI-driven weather

prediction.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.50-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.28-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 38 new 52-week highs and one new

low, while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 83 new lows.