Updates to mid-afternoon

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street dipped on Tuesday as investors showed little conviction at the top of a holiday-shortened week with earnings season winding down and geopolitical and trade uncertainties holding risk appetite in check.

The three major stock indexes wobbled between red and green for much of the session, but slipped into negative territory in the afternoon, weighed down by Meta Platforms META.O, Amazon.com AMZN.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O.

"We're seeing a little bit of a lull in the market," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "There aren’t a whole lot of catalysts right now that can drive the market one way or the other, and because of that, you kind of get days like this."

"Investors are playing it pretty close to the vest today," Carlson added.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to release the minutes of its January policy meeting, at which the voting members elected to let interest rates stand amid signs of an inflation rebound and the unknown extent and effects of President Trump's threatened tariffs.

Remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers largely adhered to the same script, with Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller saying they believe economic strength and elevated inflation warrant holding the policy rate steady for the time being.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly reiterated that a pause in rate cuts is appropriate until more visible progress is made toward bringing inflation down to the Fed's 2% goal.

The minutes will be scrutinized for clues regarding the central bank's path forward, particularly in light of recent data, which shows price growth gaining momentum, falling consumer sentiment and weaker-than-expected retail sales.

"The Fed is being reasonably transparent here," Carlson said. "There's been evidence that the economy is slowing down a little bit and I'm sure they're watching that. But I don't think they feel significant pressure, at least at this point, to drop rates anytime soon."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 159.02 points, or 0.36%, to 44,387.06, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 8.67 points, or 0.14%, to 6,105.96 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 90.44 points, or 0.45%, to 19,936.34.

Fourth-quarter earnings season has come around the final bend, with 383 companies in the S&P 500 having reported as of Friday. Of those, 74% have posted better-than-expected results, according to LSEG data.

Analysts currently see fourth-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 15.3% year-on-year, up from the 9.6% estimate as it stood on Jan. 1.

Intel INTC.O advanced 10.7% after a report over the weekend said rivals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. 2330.TW and Broadcom AVGO.O were considering potential deals that could split the chipmaker in two.

The move gave a boost to the Philadelphia SE semiconductor index .SOX, which gained 1.4%.

Constellation Brands STZ.N jumped 4.6% after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N disclosed a new investment in the company on Friday.

Meta Platforms META.O was off 3.7%, on course to snap its 20-session winning streak.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.25-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 229 new highs and 73 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,117 stocks rose and 2,251 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.06-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and 11 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 117 new highs and 94 new lows.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

((stephen.culp@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6076;))