US STOCKS-Tech stocks keep Wall St afloat amid raging US-China tariff war

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Updates with afternoon trading levels

By Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal

April 9 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq inched higher on Wednesday, as investors bought beaten-down technology stocks in a choppy session that remained centered on tariff moves as China retaliated with more levies on U.S. goods.

Large technology stocks led the gains, with Apple AAPL.O rising 3.3% and Nvidia NVDA.O up 2%. The tech sector .SPLRCT was up 1.5%.

"The reflex to buy the dip is very strong and certainly the wipeout you've seen in tech stocks makes them cheap relative to where they were," said Chris Beauchamp, chief strategist at IG.

The S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow .DJI, however, edged lower.

At 12:01 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 161.21 points, or 0.43%, to 37,484.38, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 13.71 points, or 0.28%, to 4,969.06 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 58.83 points, or 0.39%, to 15,327.41.

Despite the modest gains, all the three benchmarks were down more than 10% from the levels seen before the reciprocal U.S. tariff were announced last week.

China on Wednesday responded by imposing additional levies of 84% on all U.S. goods from April 10, up from the 34% previously announced.

As the tariff war escalated and hopes of concessions faded, investors have rushed to exit stocks, commodities and even U.S. government bonds.

The upcoming earnings season will offer more insights into the health of corporate America as investors fear a hit to economic growth from the tariffs. U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase JPM.N, will report first-quarter results on Friday.

Meanwhile, healthcare stocks .SPXHC fell 2.2% as drugmakers slid after Trump reiterated plans for "major" tariffs on pharmaceutical imports. Eli Lilly LLY.N and AbbVie ABBV.N were down more than 4%.

The broader energy index .SPNY fell 1% as crude prices plunged to more than four-year lows.

The tariff-driven turmoil prompted investors to dump safe-haven U.S. Treasuries for a dash of cash, pushing yields higher. US/

The yield on the 10-year note US10YT=RR was near its highest since late February, last at 4.43%. If gains sustain, it would mark the biggest weekly jump since 2001. An auction of 10-year Treasury notes at 1:00 p.m. ET will be in focus.

Rate-sensitive real estate .SPLRCR fell 1.5%, while utilities .SPLRCU - often seen as a bond proxy owing to their steady income regardless of the economic situation - dipped 2.2%.

The CBOE Volatility index .VIX - seen as Wall Street's 'fear gauge', hovered near its highest since August last year at 50.84 points.

Minutes from the Fed's March policy meeting are due later in the day, while a consumer price inflation reading is set for Thursday, which could offer clues on the inflation trajectory.

Delta Air Lines DAL.N gained 5.5% as the carrier beat first-quarter profit expectations. The company though pulled its 2025 financial forecast and projected current-quarter profit below expectations.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.61-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.21-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 97 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded four new highs and 583 new lows.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Pranav Kashyap; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

((Shashwat.Chauhan@thomsonreuters.com;))