US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq weighed down by tech stocks; Powell in focus

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* Weekly jobless claims rise less than expected
* Powell to address WSJ conference at noon ET
* Indexes: Dow up 0.2%, S&P down 0.2%, Nasdaq down 0.8%

(Updates to market open)
By Shashank Nayar and Medha Singh
March 4 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped in
choppy trading on Thursday as jittery investors looked to
remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on rising bond
yields, while data pointed to a staggering recovery in the labor
market.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose
last week, likely boosted by brutal winter storms in the densely
populated South, though the labor market outlook is improving
amid declining new COVID-19 cases. The crucial monthly payrolls report is expected on Friday.
Wall Street's main indexes fell in the past two sessions as
a spike in U.S. bond yields pressured high-flying tech stocks
while economy-linked stocks outperformed on hopes of a new round
of fiscal aid and vaccinations.
The energy sector .SPNY enjoyed a 1% jump on the back of
higher oil prices. Apple Inc AAPL.O , Tesla Inc TSLA.O and
PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL.O were among the top drags on the S&P
500. O/R
Powell is set to speak at a Wall Street Journal conference
at 12:05 p.m. ET (1705 GMT) where his comments will be
scrutinized for any hints of concern about last week's jump in
bond yields, in what will be his last outing before the Fed's
March 16-17 policy meeting. "Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has downplayed inflation worries
and continues advocating dovish monetary policy, but those
yields suggest investors aren't completely convinced," said JJ
Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade.
Ahead of Powell's remarks, the 10-year Treasury yields
US10YT=RR were at 1.467% but they held below last week's
one-year high of 1.614%.
Tech stocks are particularly sensitive to rising yields
because their value rests heavily on future earnings, which are
discounted more deeply when bond returns go up.
At 10:02 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 57.06 points, or 0.18%, to 31,327.15, the S&P 500 .SPX
lost 5.80 points, or 0.15%, to 3,813.92 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC lost 106.99 points, or 0.82%, to 12,890.76.
The S&P 500 traded below its 50-day moving average, an
indicator of short-term momentum, while the Nasdaq trimmed its
year-to-date gains to 0.1%. In contrast, the Dow has risen 2.5%
in 2021 and the S&P 500 is up about 1.5% in the same period.
The U.S. Senate is expected to begin debating President Joe
Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Thursday
after agreeing to phase out payments to higher-income Americans
in a compromise with moderate Democratic senators. Boeing Co BA.N rose about 1% as the United States and
Britain had agreed a four-month suspension of U.S. retaliatory
tariffs in a long-running row over aircraft subsidies to allow
negotiations to take place. Disney's DIS.N shares dropped 1% as it announced it will
close at least 60 Disney retail stores in North America this
year and about 20% of its worldwide total, as it revamps its
digital shopping platforms to focus on e-commerce. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.3-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 106 new highs and 140 new lows.