US STOCKS-Nasdaq falls as big tech slides; Fed minutes in focus

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* U.S. retail sales rebound strongly in January
* Verizon, Chevron jump as Buffett's Berkshire reveals big
stakes
* Hilton falls on third straight quarterly loss
* Indexes down: Dow 0.06%, S&P 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.60%

(Updates to open)
By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq fell on Wednesday led by a
slide in big technology firms as investors rotated out of growth
stocks, while awaiting the release of minutes from the U.S
Federal Reserve's January meeting later in the day.
Shares in Apple Inc AAPL.O , Tesla Inc TSLA.O and
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O fell between 1.0% and 2.5%, weighing the
most on the tech-heavy index. The S&P 500 technology sector
.SPLRCT fell 0.9%, while the communication services sector
.SPLRCL dropped 0.1%.
Both the S&P sectors house many stocks with high earnings
multiples, which many analysts say may come under pressure with
rising yields.
Rising inflation expectations pushed benchmark 10-year U.S.
Treasury yields US10YT=RR to their highest in a year on
Wednesday. US/
"The reflation trade has been good for stock markets as it's
driven by optimism around the recovery, but that will only
continue to a point ... if yields start rising at a rate
considered too fast, sentiment will quickly change in stock
markets," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
The Fed has pledged to pin interest rates near zero until
inflation rises to 2% and looks set to exceed that goal.
That super-easy stance, coupled with the Biden
administration's proposed $1.9 trillion spending bill for
pandemic relief, has some analysts warning of a coming surge in
inflation.
"While the new package may be large, it will add stimulus to
an economy still below potential, and the spending will be
spread out over a couple of years," said Mark Haefele, chief
investment officer, UBS global wealth management in Zurich.
"So while a near-term rise in inflation is likely, we expect
the Fed to look past that and keep rates on hold."
Data showed U.S. retail sales rebounded sharply in January
after households received additional pandemic relief money from
the government, suggesting a pick-up in economic activity after
being restrained by a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections late
last year. At 9:56 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 17.73 points, or 0.06%, at 31,505.02, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 11.15 points, or 0.28%, at 3,921.44, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 84.07 points, or 0.60%, at 13,963.43.
Shares in Dow components Verizon Communications Inc VZ.N
and Chevron Corp CVX.N jumped about 3.5% after Warren
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKa.N disclosed major
investments in the companies on Tuesday. Hotel operator Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc HLT.N slipped
3% on reporting a third straight quarterly loss as bookings fell
due to coronavirus-induced travel disruptions. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.73-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.91-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 13 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 92 new highs and six new lows.