US STOCKS-Wall St takes a breather as bond yields rise after GDP data

By Sruthi Shankar and Shashwat Chauhan

Dec 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were little changed in choppy trading on Tuesday, pausing after three sessions of gains as Treasury yields climbed following stronger-than-expected economic data.

The U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, driven by robust consumer spending. Early estimates showed gross domestic product increased at a 4.3% annualized rate last quarter, much above economists' forecast for a rise at 3.3% pace, according to Reuters poll.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield US10YT=RR rose to a more than one-week high of 4.19%. The dollar =USD also trimmed its losses.

Traders continued to expect at least two 25-basis-point interest rate cuts next year, according to LSEG data, while assigning a 15% chance of the first reduction coming as early as January, down from 18% before the data.

Consumer confidence data for December is due later in the day.

At 09:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 54.67 points, or 0.11%, to 48,308.01. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.11 points, or 0.06%, to 6,882.60, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 17.52 points, or 0.08%, to 23,447.50.

Six of the 11 S&P sectors gained, led by energy .SPNY and communication services .SPLRCL. Consumer staples .SPLRCS and real estate .SPLRCR were the laggards.

A rebound in technology stocks and a cooler-than-expected November inflation report have fueled U.S. stocks in the past three sessions, bringing the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX within the 0.5% of its December 11 record close.

"(The AI trade) is still very volatile. It is absolutely touch and go and I feel like that's going to be a theme that really is going to carry forward throughout next year," said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Siebert Financial.

All three main indexes were set for their third straight yearly gain. The S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow .DJI were also on track to rise for the eighth consecutive month.

Recent gains in U.S. stocks have spurred hopes of a "Santa Claus rally", a seasonal phenomenon in which the S&P 500 posts gains in the last five trading days of the year and the first two trading days in January, according to Stock Trader's Almanac.

This year, that period starts on Wednesday and runs through January 5.

Trading volumes were light and were likely to thin out further as the holiday approaches. U.S. stock markets will close at 1 p.m. ET (1800 GMT) on Wednesday and remain shut on Thursday for Christmas.

U.S.-listed shares of precious metal miners extended their recent gains after gold XAU= and silver XAG= prices surged to all-time highs against a weakening dollar and as geopolitical tensions buoyed safe-haven demand.

U.S. military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls HII.N rose 1.4% after President Donald Trump announced plans for a new "Trump class" of battleships, which he said would be larger, faster and "100 times more powerful" than any previously built.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.33-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.56-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 33 new highs and 62 new lows.