US STOCKS-S&P 500 gains in choppy trading ahead of Powell, Yellen remarks

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Oil, travel stocks slip on virus concerns
* GameStop drops ahead of quarterly results
* S&P 500 up about 80% from the lows of pandemic-led crash
* Indexes: Dow down 0.08%, S&P up 0.14%, Nasdaq flat

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
March 23 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose in choppy trading on
Tuesday as investors marked time ahead of remarks from Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
for clues about their tolerance for higher bond yields.
The S&P energy index .SPNY slipped as oil prices slumped
more than 3% on fears that new pandemic curbs and slow vaccine
rollouts in Europe will slow a recovery in demand. O/R
The U.S. equity market rallied on Monday as a slide in bond
yields drove a move out of undervalued economy-linked banks and
energy stocks and moved into tech-focused shares in a slight
reversal of this year's trend.
"We've seen a very quick movement in (yields) on mostly
fears around inflation and the market is taking a pause here
over the last week," said Jon Adams, senior investment
strategist at BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow have rallied
about 79% from their pandemic lows hit exactly a year ago, while
the tech-heavy Nasdaq has doubled in value.
The CBOE volatility index .VIX eased to its lowest level
in 13 months.
The top two U.S. economic officials, Powell and Yellen, are
expected to assess a recovery that is evolving faster than
expected but still facing risks from the coronavirus pandemic
and inflation. Their congressional hearings begin at 12 p.m. ET
(1600 GMT). At 11:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
fell 26.42 points, or 0.08% , to 32,704.78, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 5.38 points, or 0.14 %, to 3,945.97 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 1.40 points, or 0.01 %, to 13,378.94.
Financials .SPSY , energy .SPNY and industrials .SPLRCI
dropped about 1%, while tech .SPLRCT and consumer
discretionary .SPLRCD provided the biggest boost to the S&P
500.
Shares of GameStop Corp GME.N dropped 3.4% ahead of its
fourth-quarter results due after markets close. The videogame
retailer announced the exit of its chief customer officer in the
latest sign of a broader overhaul into an e-commerce firm.
ViacomCBS Inc VIAC.O tumbled about 8% after the media firm
launched $3 billion stock deals to raise capital for investments
in streaming. U.S.-listed shares of Chinese internet search provider Baidu
Inc BIDU.O slid 3% following a flat Hong Kong debut as
investors were wary of a fundraising flurry in the city and
questioned the company's growth plans. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.4-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 3.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 11 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while
the Nasdaq recorded 53 new highs and 86 new lows.