(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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Intel ( INTC ) up after report new CEO plots overhaul of

manufacturing,

AI operations

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February retail sales rise 0.2%

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New York Fed Manufacturing falls in March

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Indexes up: Dow 0.50%, S&P 500 0.49%, Nasdaq 0.33%

(Updates with morning prices)

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes edged

higher in choppy trading on Monday following the latest batch of

economic data even as investors try to gauge the impact of the

Trump administration's tariffs on the world's largest economy.

A Commerce Department report showed retail sales rebounded

0.2% in February, after a revised 1.2% decline in January.

However, it fell short of the 0.6% rise economists were

expecting.

A separate report showed New York State factory activity

plunged by the most in nearly two years, with new orders falling

sharply and input prices climbing at the fastest rate in more

than two years.

"It's just too early to tell. There are still too many

unknowns and it's hard to make that rationale," Ladenburg

Thalmann Asset Management's CEO Phil Blancato said on recession

worries.

"We have an expensive stock market and we're probably

looking at a difficult year to start."

Megacaps were mixed with Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Apple ( AAPL )

up 0.1% each, while Nvidia ( NVDA ) lost 0.4% and

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) slipped 0.3%.

Tesla declined 2.7%. A report showed brokerage

Mizuho lowered its price target on the EV maker's stock.

Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned in

an interview that there are "no guarantees" the United States

will escape a recession.

His remarks heightened anxieties about the possibility of an

economic downturn at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's

tariff policies have intensified fears of a trade war-induced

recession.

Trump has made it clear there will be no exemptions for

steel and aluminum tariffs, with reciprocal and sectoral tariffs

poised to take effect on April 2.

The Fed's rate decision is slated for Wednesday, with market

expectations firmly anticipating that the U.S. central bank will

maintain current interest rates, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

Two favorable inflation reports had provided some relief and

fueled Friday's "dip buying", propelling the S&P 500 and Nasdaq

to their largest single-day percentage gains since November 6.

At 09:54 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 203.34 points, or 0.50%, to 41,695.55, the S&P 500

gained 27.46 points, or 0.49%, to 5,666.40, and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 59.43 points, or 0.33%, to 17,813.51.

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a 1.2% climb in

energy stocks as they tracked crude prices.

Trump's tariff hikes will drag down growth in Canada, Mexico

and the U.S. while driving up inflation, the OECD said as it

lowered its global economic outlook and warned that a broader

trade war would sap growth further.

Last week, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

marked their fourth consecutive weekly declines, with the Dow

also experiencing a weekly drop.

The blue-chip Dow is precariously close to correction

territory, hovering about 2% away, and down roughly 8% from its

all-time high.

The S&P 500 entered correction territory last week,

following the Nasdaq's earlier move on March 6.

Intel ( INTC ) rose 4.9% after a report said incoming CEO

Lip-Bu Tan has considered significant changes to its chip

manufacturing methods and artificial intelligence strategies

ahead of his return to the company. The broader chip index

added 1%.