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Updates for market open

By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street main indexes were muted on Tuesday as investors braced for potential tariff developments and sought insights into the U.S. Federal Reserve's plans for interest rates after monthly data released last week showed retail sales had tumbled.

Minutes from the central bank's January meeting, where it held interest rates unchanged, are due on Wednesday.

On Monday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said that his "baseline" view was that U.S. President Donald Trump's new trade restrictions would have only a modest impact on prices, while Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker supported a steady interest-rate policy stance for now.

Hawkish commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell last week along with a batch of mixed data, including weaker-than-expected retail sales that caused Treasury yields to retreat, has led to uncertainty over what the Fed's strategy will be vis-à-vis borrowing costs this year.

Traders currently see at least one 25-basis-point rate cut and a 54% chance of an additional lowering by December, according to LSEG data.

"I don't think the Fed wants a policy mistake by cutting rates too early, because if they do, the unintended consequence would certainly be that inflation would turn around," said Philip Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.

Wall Street's main stock indexes clocked weekly gains in the midst of a choppy period for global markets last week as Trump's imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, along with his plans for reciprocal tariffs, sparked volatility.

Meanwhile, global risk-taking was boosted by speculations of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine as Russian and U.S. officials met for bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

At 09:57 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 99.35 points, or 0.22%, to 44,444.83, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 5.87 points, or 0.10%, to 6,120.62, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 33.71 points, or 0.17%, to 20,060.48.

Five of the S&P 500's 11 sectors traded lower, with communication services .SPLRCL leading declines with a 0.9% fall, while technology .SPLRCT led gains with a 0.5% rise.

A 2.2% drop in UnitedHealth UNH.N weighed on the blue-chip Dow.

Earnings season will thin out this week, with more than 380 of the S&P 500 companies having reported quarterly results.

Retail giant Walmart's WMT.N earnings, a bellwether to gauge how the American consumer is faring, are due later this week.

Megacap and growth stocks were mixed, although Nvidia VDA.O> outpaced the pack with a 1.9% advance.

Intel INTC.O rose 6.6% after a report over the weekend said rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co 2330.TW and Broadcom AVGO.O was each eyeing potential deals that could break the chipmaking icon in two.

Constellation Brands STZ.N jumped 5.4% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N disclosed a new investment in the alcoholic beverages producer on Friday.

Bath & Body Works BBWI.N advanced 7.4% after J.P.Morgan upgraded its rating on the beauty and skincare company to "overweight".

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and nine new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 86 new highs and 50 new lows.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)

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