* Weekly jobless claims falls the most in two years-data
* Fed officials call out lofty stock market valuations
* Constellation jumps on results, strong forecast
* Indexes up: Dow 0.01 pct, S&P 0.01 pct, Nasdaq 0.09 pct(Updates to open)
By Yashaswini Swamynathan
April 6 (Reuters) – U.S. stocks were little changed inchoppy trading on Thursday as investors reassessed their betsahead of a potentially tense meeting between the presidents ofU.S. and China and as the chances of quick fiscal stimulusebbed.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, XiJinping, start their two-day meeting on Thursday and top of theagenda is the possibility of Trump using U.S.-China trade tiesto pressure Beijing to do more to rein in North Korea’s armsprogram.
“The Trump Xi meeting is in focus and we don’t expect anymaterial changes, other than tough talk and a good talking pointfor tomorrow’s newspaper headlines,” Peter Cardillo, chiefmarket economist at First Standard Financial wrote in a note.
The meeting comes as some investors question Trump’s abilityto deliver on his pro-growth promises, such as tax cuts,following recent setbacks in pushing reforms through Congress.
The Federal Reserve indicated changes to its bond investmentpolicy this year as it aims to trim its balance sheet. Anotherdent came after U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryansaid there was no consensus on tax reform and that it would takelonger to accomplish than healthcare.
At 9:44 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average wasup 3.09 points, or 0.01 percent, at 20,651.24, the S&P 500was up 0.46 points, or 0.01 percent, at 2,353.41 and theNasdaq Composite was up 5.54 points, or 0.09 percent, at5,870.01.
Five of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower. The S&P 500financial index was down 0.3 percent. Financial stockshave largely outperformed in a post-election rally, sparked byTrump’s pro-growth plans.
However, the minutes of the Fed’s latest meeting showedofficials “viewed equity prices as quite high relative tostandard valuation measures,” adding to jitters over loftyvaluations as the first-quarter earnings season approaches.
Earnings of S&P 500 companies are expected to have risen10.1 percent. The index is trading at about 18 times forwardearnings estimates, above its long-term average of 15.
Earlier, stock index futures got a boost from a U.S. LaborDepartment report that showed new applications for unemploymentbenefits recorded their biggest drop in nearly two years lastweek.
In stocks, Advanced Micro Devices dropped 6.8percent to $13.22 after Goldman Sachs initiated overage with a”sell” rating.
Among retailers, Costco gained 2 percent to $170.33after reporting March sales, while Bed Bath & Beyondrose 6 percent to $39.98 after reporting quarterly results.
Constellation Brands jumped 7.4 percent to $173.97fter the Corona beer maker’s better-than-expected quarterlyresults and upbeat full-year forecast.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,501to 1,011. On the Nasdaq, 1,248 issues rose and 996 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed one 52-week high and two lows,while the Nasdaq recorded nine highs and 26 new lows.(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing bySavio D’Souza)