LIVE MARKETS-Fed head: Stocks mixed in opening minutes, tech out front

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FED HEAD: STOCKS MIXED IN EARLY GOING, TECH OUT FRONT

Wall Street tip-toed into Fed week on Monday with tech stocks in the lead.

Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, tech .SPLRCT only one showing real upward momentum, putting the Nasdaq out front and leaving the S&P 500 flat. The blue-chip Dow inched lower in early trade.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index .SOX was a clear outperformer, rising 1.1%, buoyed by its star constituent Nvidia NVDA.O.

Still, stocks are bouncing along near record highs.

At last glance, the bellwether S&P 500 is hovering just 0.3% below its all-time high reached on October 28.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to convene on Tuesday for its much-anticipated two-day monetary policy meeting.

Any investor would love to be a fly on the wall as the hawks face off against the doves as the central bank weighs its dual mandate, with signs of softening labor market likely dominating the conversation.

The data-reliant Fed hasn't had much data in recent months, owing to the government shutdown. But on Tuesday, Labor Department's October Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will give the policymakers something to chew on.

Financial markets are currently pricing in an 87.4% likelihood that Powell & Co will lower its crucial Fed funds target rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of that meeting on Wednesday, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Aside from JOLTS, the National Federation of Independent Business' (NFIB) Small Business Sentiment on Tuesday and jobless claims expected on Thursday, the week offers little in the way of current data.

With 493 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported third-quarter results, earnings will slow to a drip this week, with Autozone AZO.O, Adobe ADBE.O, Oracle ORCL.K and Costco COST.O all on deck.

Here's where things stood as of 9:50 EST:

(Stephen Culp)

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