US STOCKS-Wall Street flat ahead of Fed rate decision

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* Modest drop in U.S. interest rates widely expected
* Fed set to release policy statement at 2 p.m. EDT
* Apple shares jump on upbeat results, forecast
* AMD leads slide among chip stocks
* Indexes up: Dow 0.01%, S&P 500 0.04%, Nasdaq 0.28%

(Updates prices, comments)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on
Wednesday as investors awaited a widely anticipated interest
rate cut by the Federal Reserve and clues on whether it would
inaugurate further monetary easing.
With a quarter-percentage-point cut in borrowing costs
almost certain, focus will now fall on Fed Chairman Jerome
Powell to explain why the move was necessary and what comes
next. The Fed is set to release its policy statement at 2 p.m. EDT
(1800 GMT).
Investors are looking beyond the 25-basis-point cut and
questioning whether this might be an insurance cut or a shift in
monetary policy, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at
National Securities in New York.
Wall Street's main indexes have had a strong run since a
steep selloff in May, with the S&P 500 index .SPX now up 20%
for the year on hopes that a modest rate cut would help combat
slowing growth and boost tame inflation.
Offering support to the main indexes was Apple Inc's
AAPL.O 4.43% gain after the iPhone maker beat quarterly profit
and revenue expectations, and forecast strong sales for the
current quarter, easing concerns around the impact of the
U.S.-China trade war. This helped the technology sector .SPLRCT rise 0.38%, but
a 8.30% slide in shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O
capped gains.
The semiconductor maker forecast third-quarter revenue below
expectations, hit by lower demand for its chips used in gaming
consoles, pushing the Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX
down 1.49%.
The United States and China wrapped up trade talks that both
sides described as "constructive," including discussions over
further Chinese purchases of American farm goods and an
agreement to reconvene in September. At 11:35 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 1.80 points, or 0.01%, at 27,199.82, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 1.23 points, or 0.04%, at 3,014.41 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 22.77 points, or 0.28%, at 8,296.38.
Electronic Arts Inc EA.O jumped 5.8%, after the video game
publisher posted quarterly revenue beat, riding on the continued
success of its battle royale game "Apex Legends".
Beer maker Molson Coors Brewing Co TAP.N slid 7.70%, after
its quarterly net sales and profit missed estimates on weak
demand. The company also said its Chief Executive Officer Mark
Hunter was retiring. The ADP National Employment Report, showed private employers
added 156,000 jobs in July, above economists' expectations and
supporting the view of a firm domestic labor market. This comes
ahead of the Labor Department's more comprehensive monthly
non-farm payrolls data due on Friday. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.57-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.82-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 29 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 95 new highs and 45 new lows.