US STOCKS-Wall St edges lower as investors turn cautious ahead of Fed rate decision

By Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 16 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq eased from intraday record highs on Tuesday as caution set in ahead of an anticipated interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, while declines in financial stocks weighed on the Dow.

Investors are largely pricing in a 25 basis point cut from the U.S. central bank at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday, to offset the deterioration in the U.S. labor market, evidenced by numerous recent economic indicators.

The S&P 500 financial .SPSY and utilities .SPLRCU sectors lost 0.7% and 0.9% respectively, leading declines among peers. An index tracking regional banks .KRX lost 1.6%.

Technology stocks .SPLRCT were the biggest decliners on the benchmark index. Losses in Goldman Sachs GS.N and Travelers TRV.N bogged down the Dow.

"It'll be important how (the Fed) they shape the message of forward policy and markets are taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of one of the most important Fed meetings of the year so far," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise.

"We are seeing money coming out of some of the more interest rate cyclical sectors, as there is a bit of caution ahead of tomorrow's announcement."

At 11:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 166.20 points, or 0.36%, to 45,718.70, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 10.90 points, or 0.16%, to 6,604.38 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 20.15 points, or 0.09%, to 22,328.60.

The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX climbed to its highest level in more than a week, and was last at 16.23 points.

Defensive sectors such as healthcare .SPXHC and consumer staples .SPLRCS also saw some gains, up 0.1% each.

Energy stocks .SPNY advanced 1.6% tracking higher oil prices, while gains in Tesla TSLA.O lifted the consumer discretionary sector .SPLRCD.

Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in August, but did little to change already priced-in rate cut expectations - a total of about 68 basis points by end-2025 according to data compiled by LSEG showed.

Expectations remained unchanged after the U.S. Senate confirmed economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Fed Board and an appeals court rejected President Donald Trump's bid to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at all-time highs on Monday after hitting intraday records in multiple sessions. The three main indexes have gained so far in September - a month deemed bad for U.S. equities historically.

The benchmark S&P 500 has lost 1.5% on average in September since 2000, data compiled by LSEG showed.

Webtoon Entertainment WBTN.O soared 31% after a deal with Disney DIS.N to create a new digital comics platform to feature content from Disney's portfolio, including "Marvel" and "Star Wars".

Trump said that the U.S. and China have a deal that will keep the short-video app TikTok operating in the U.S. CNBC, citing sources, said Oracle ORCL.N will keep its TikTok cloud deal under new agreement. It gained 1%.

Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O fell 8.8%. TD Cowen downgraded the media company's rating to "hold" from "buy".

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.41-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 69 new highs and 51 new lows.