Aug 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks struggled for direction on Monday as investors braced for a slew of U.S. economic data this week, especially consumer prices, to gauge the outlook for Federal Reserve monetary policy.
Real estate (.SPLRCR), and financials (.SPSY), were the top losers among S&P 500 sectors, down 1.1% and 0.6% respectively.
The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX), and Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), recouped most of their losses from last Monday by the end of the week. The S&P 500 had suffered its biggest one-day percentage drop in nearly two years on recession fears and the unwinding of currency carry trade positions involving the yen.
Investors are awaiting Wednesday's U.S. consumer price index reading and retailer earnings to assess demand by shoppers.
The CPI data is expected to show headline inflation accelerated 0.2% in July from June, but remain unchanged at 3% on a year-on-year basis.
Money markets are evenly betting on a 25- or 50-basis-point cut in U.S. interest rates in September, expecting a total easing of 100 bps by the end 2024, CME's FedWatch Tool showed.
Figures for July U.S. retail sales on Thursday are likely to show marginal growth, and investors expect that any weakness in the data could reignite fears of a consumer slowdown and a potential recession.
Walmart (WMT.N), and Home Depot (HD.N), are due to report earnings later this week.
"Retail earnings are another indication on the health of the consumer particularly in light of the unemployment rate ticking up in the most recent report," said James Abate, chief investment officer at Centre Asset Management in New York.
"One thing that could be a significant disappointment to the market is if the CPI number comes out higher than consensus."
As of 2:30 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), fell 178.69 points, or 0.45%, to 39,318.85. The S&P 500 (.SPX), lost 3.25 points, or 0.06%, at 5,340.91 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), rose 31.62 points, or 0.19%, to 16,777.19.
Starbucks (SBUX.O), climbed 1.9% on reports that activist investor Starboard Value, which holds a stake in the coffee giant, wants the company to take steps to improve its stock price.
KeyCorp (KEY.N), jumped 8.7% after Canada's Scotiabank (BNS.TO), bought a minority stake in the U.S. regional lender in an all-stock deal worth $2.8 billion. Hawaiian Electric (HE.N), dropped 15.6% after the utility firm raised "going concern" doubts.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.4-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by 1.47-to-1 on Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 155 new lows.
Reporting by Abigail Summerville in New York; Editing by Richard Chang
