US STOCKS-Wall St muted after sharp rally ahead of Fed minutes, Nvidia earnings

By Shashwat Chauhan and Kanchana Chakravarty

May 28 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were subdued on Wednesday after a sharp rally in the previous session sparked by easing trade tensions, as investors awaited AI leader Nvidia's results and minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting.

Nvidia NVDA.O is expected to report a 66.2% surge in first-quarter revenue, according to data compiled by LSEG. Shares of the chipmaker rose 0.2% ahead of its earnings, due to be released after markets close.

"There's kind of wait and see for Nvidia earnings tonight, which have become one of the big macro market movers, both because of the leverage to the AI trade and the AI theme and also because of the linkages to global trade," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird.

Traders in the options markets are bracing for industry-wide volatility, with defensive options contracts drawing heavy attention for the VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH.O, the largest semiconductor ETF.

At 09:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 50.77 points, or 0.12%, to 42,394.42, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 3.97 points, or 0.07%, to 5,925.57, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 0.98 points, or 0%, to 19,198.18.

Most megacap and growth stocks traded up, with Google-parent Alphabet GOOGL.O rising 1% and Meta Platforms META.O adding 1.2%.

Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose, with Communication Services .SPLRCL and information technology .SPLRCT showing the biggest gains.

All three main Wall Street indexes soared in the last session after U.S. President Donald Trump backed down over the weekend from his threat of 50% tariffs on imports from the European Union.

The S&P 500 is now about 4% off its record closing high, reached on February 19, falling as much as 18.9% below that level in the wake of Trump's erratic tariff announcements that have whipsawed markets for much of his second term.

Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting, when the central bank held borrowing costs steady, are slated for release at 2 p.m. ET.

In earnings, Michael Kors-owner Capri Holdings CPRI.N jumped nearly 9% after reporting a fourth-quarter revenue beat.

New York Fed President John Williams said central banks must "respond relatively strongly" when inflation begins to deviate from their target, given the high uncertainty around the economic impact of U.S. tariffs and trade policy.

Yields on long-dated U.S. government bonds were slightly higher after scaling multi-month highs last week. Those on the benchmark 10-year note US10YT=RR were up 3.9 basis points at 4.47%.

Global bond markets have been in the spotlight over concerns about fiscal sustainability in major economies including the United States and Japan.

Shares of sportswear retailer Dick's Sporting Goods DKS.N rose 2.6% after it posted a first-quarter results beat.

Cybersecurity firm Okta OKTA.O flagged risks related to the uncertain economic environment but stuck to its full-year outlook. Its shares dropped nearly 12%.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.36-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.44-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 31 new lows.