US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq fall as tech slides and inflation concerns weigh

* U.S. producer prices rise, retail sales rebound in January
* Verizon, Chevron jump as Berkshire Hathaway reveals big
stakes
* Dow up 0.2%, S&P down 0.2%, Nasdaq down 0.9%

(Updates to mid-afternoon trade, changes byline, adds NEW YORK
to dateline)
By April Joyner
NEW YORK, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell
on Wednesday as concerns about inflation pressured stocks and
investors rotated out of technology shares.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher, however,
aided in part by gains in shares of Verizon Communications Inc
VZ.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N , which rose after Warren
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKa.N disclosed major
investments in the companies on Tuesday. Verizon shares climbed
5.0%, and Chevron shares advanced 2.7%. Technology shares led losses on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Apple Inc AAPL.O , PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL.O and Nvidia Corp
NVDA.O weighed most on both indexes. The S&P 500 tech index
.SPLRCT fell 1.3%.
Both of those indexes briefly pared losses while the Dow
momentarily added to gains after the release of minutes from the
Federal Reserve's January policy meeting. All of the meeting's
participants supported the decision to keep rates unchanged and
maintain an accommodative monetary policy. The Fed has pledged to pin interest rates near zero until
inflation rises to 2% and looks set to exceed that goal. That
stance, coupled with President Joe Biden's proposed $1.9
trillion package for pandemic relief, has some analysts warning
of a coming surge in inflation.
As a result, some investors have considered whether the Fed
may have to change course sooner than expected. Data released on
Wednesday showed a substantial jump in U.S. producer prices and
a strong rebound in retail sales. Fears that the Fed may have to change course on policy more
quickly than expected have driven recent declines in stocks.
Those worries have been bolstered by a sharp rise in benchmark
Treasury yields, fueled in part by expectations for greater
inflation.
"You maybe have to put somewhere in the foreseeable future
that they have to do something," said Michael O'Rourke, chief
market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford, Connecticut,
referring to the Fed.
"But it's a high threshold we have to cross in order to get
them to react," he added. "That's why we're not selling off
massively."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 50.95 points,
or 0.16%, to 31,573.7, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 9.33 points, or
0.24%, to 3,923.26 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
124.72 points, or 0.89%, to 13,922.78.
Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N shares jumped 5.2% after a report
said the lender won Fed acceptance for overhauling risk
management and governance tied to regulatory asset cap.
U.S.-listed shares of Shopify Inc SHOP.N slid 2.8% after
the Canadian e-commerce giant hinted at slower revenue growth in
2021 as vaccine rollouts encourage people to return to stores
after a year marked by an upsurge in online shopping.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.52-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.77-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 161 new highs and nine new lows.