Equities rise with inflation data, earnings in focus; Alphabet drops
Google-parent Alphabet down on potential DOJ action
Boeing falls after talks with union halted
Fed minutes
Indexes: Dow up 0.78%, S&P 500 up 0.46%, Nasdaq up 0.35%
Updated prices at 2:24 p.m ET/ 1824 GMT
By Sinéad Carew and Lisa Pauline Mattackal
Oct 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street's three main stock indexes rose on Wednesday as investors digested Federal Reserve meeting minutes ahead of September inflation data and earnings reports, but Alphabet shares fell on fears the U.S. would break up Google.
Stocks held steady after the release of the Fed's September meeting minutes showed a "substantial majority" of officials supported an outsized half-point rate cut. There was broader agreement that the move would not commit the Fed to any particular pace of cuts in the future.
After the news, traders were slightly less optimistic about an easing in November, pricing in a 76% chance of a 25-basis-point reduction in borrowing costs and a 24% probability the Fed keeps rates on hold, according to CME's FedWatch.
Shares in market heavyweight Alphabet GOOGL.O were down 2.5% afterthe U.S. Department of Justice said it may ask a judge to force Google to divest parts of its business. These includeits Chrome web browserand its Androidoperating system, to curtail its search monopoly.
"News about antitrust initiatives create worries about what that means for the technology sector broadly and specifically the most dominant players," said Daniel Morris, chief market strategist for asset management at BNP Paribas.
Trading has been choppy this week, with investors adjusting rate-cut expectations after a surprisingly strong jobs report.
The market is awaiting the Consumer Price Index inflation report on Thursday and the third-quarter corporate earnings season, which kicks off in earnest with some of the biggest U.S. banks reporting on Friday.
BNP's Morris said this was likely helping investor sentiment along with a drop in oil prices, which had gained in five of the previous six trading days due toan escalating conflict in the Middle East.
"Lower oil prices and expectations for good news on inflation and looking forward to earnings season are all broadly supportive for equity prices," said Morris.
Investorswere also monitoringthe potential impact of Category5 Hurricane Milton, due to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.
As of 2:24 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 327.20 points, or 0.78%, to 42,407.57. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 26.17 points, or 0.46%, at 5,777.30 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC climbed 63.05 points, or 0.35%, to 18,245.96.
Most S&P 500 industry sectors rose, although rate-sensitive utilities .SPLRCU and real estate .SPLRCR fell along with the communications services index .SPLRCL, which includes Alphabet.
Boeing BA.N fell 2.8% after talks between the company and its key manufacturing union broke down.
Among gainers, shares of Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N outperformed the broader market with a 10% gain after Citi upgraded itsrating to "buy." Its peer Carnival CCL.N rose 7.4% while Royal Caribbean Cruises RCL.N was up 4.7%.
Shares of Arcadium Lithium ALTM.N soared 30.5%after Rio Tinto RIO.AX said it would acquire the miner for $6.7 billion.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms dropped as investors continued to question if China would announce new stimulus measures. Alibaba Group BABA.N fell0.9% and PDD Holdings PDD.O was off 1.6%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.19-to-1 ratio on the NYSE where there were 278 new highs and 41 new lows.
On the Nasdaq, 2,075 stocks rose and 2,049 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.01-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 47 new 52-week highs and two new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 85 new highs and 113 new lows.
U.S. Stocks and Fed Policy https://tmsnrt.rs/3U1oVoK
Reporting by Sinéad Carew, Lisa Mattackal and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Richard Chang
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