March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes edged higher in choppy trading on Monday following the latest batch of economic data even as investors try to gauge the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs on the world's largest economy.
A Commerce Department report showed retail sales rebounded 0.2% in February, after a revised 1.2% decline in January. However, it fell short of the 0.6% rise economists were expecting.
A separate report showed New York State factory activity plunged by the most in nearly two years, with new orders falling sharply and input prices climbing at the fastest rate in more than two years.
"It's just too early to tell. There are still too many unknowns and it's hard to make that rationale," Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management's CEO Phil Blancato said on recession worries.
"We have an expensive stock market and we're probably looking at a difficult year to start."
Megacaps were mixed with Microsoft (MSFT.O), and Apple (AAPL.O), up 0.1% each, while Nvidia (NVDA.O), lost 0.4% and Amazon.com (AMZN.O), slipped 0.3%.
Tesla (TSLA.O), declined 2.7%. A report showed brokerage Mizuho lowered its price target on the EV maker's stock.
Over the weekend, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned in an interview that there are "no guarantees" the United States will escape a recession.
His remarks heightened anxieties about the possibility of an economic downturn at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies have intensified fears of a trade war-induced recession.
Trump has made it clear there will be no exemptions for steel and aluminum tariffs, with reciprocal and sectoral tariffs poised to take effect on April 2.
The Fed's rate decision is slated for Wednesday, with market expectations firmly anticipating that the U.S. central bank will maintain current interest rates, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Two favorable inflation reports had provided some relief and fueled Friday's "dip buying", propelling the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their largest single-day percentage gains since November 6.
At 09:54 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), rose 203.34 points, or 0.50%, to 41,695.55, the S&P 500 (.SPX), gained 27.46 points, or 0.49%, to 5,666.40, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), gained 59.43 points, or 0.33%, to 17,813.51.
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a 1.2% climb in energy stocks (.SPNY), as they tracked crude prices.
Trump's tariff hikes will drag down growth in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. while driving up inflation, the OECD said as it lowered its global economic outlook and warned that a broader trade war would sap growth further.
Last week, both the S&P 500 (.SPX), and the Nasdaq (.IXIC), marked their fourth consecutive weekly declines, with the Dow also experiencing a weekly drop.
The blue-chip Dow (.DJI), is precariously close to correction territory, hovering about 2% away, and down roughly 8% from its all-time high.
The S&P 500 entered correction territory last week, following the Nasdaq's earlier move on March 6.
Intel (INTC.O), rose 4.9% after a report said incoming CEO Lip-Bu Tan has considered significant changes to its chip manufacturing methods and artificial intelligence strategies ahead of his return to the company. The broader chip index (.SOX), added 1%.
Reporting by Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian in Bangalore; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta
