US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq end down as investors brace for CPI, PPI data

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Chip stocks extend recent losses

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Boeing eases as justice dept probes MAX blowout

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Equitrans Midstream up as EQT to buy back firm

(Updates to close)

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Monday with investors preparing for this week's consumer and producer price data, which they hope could give them a better idea on whether the Federal Reserve can begin cutting interest rates in the coming months.

Boeing shares eased after Alaska Airlines said on Saturday it was cooperating with the U.S. Department of Justice in a criminal investigation into a Boeing 737 MAX cabin panel blowout on one of its flights in January.

Boeing weighed on the S&P 500, with the industrial sector among the biggest sector decliners.

U.S. consumer price data for February is due on Tuesday, with expectations for a monthly increase of 0.4% and 3.1% on an annual basis. The U.S. producer price report is due on Thursday.

"These tend to be more volatile ... and certainly the market will move with them," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. "There's certainly a camp out there saying we're going to have renewed inflation - or there's a good possibility of that - and then there's certainly a camp that says we're going to have deflation, and that will allow the Fed to lower rates. It's always tricky."

Data showing signs of a robust economy slowed the stock market's rally last month as traders pushed back expectations on the timing of the first Fed rate cut to June from March.

The Fed's next rate-setting meeting is next week.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 5.23 points, or 0.10%, to end at 5,118.46 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 65.84 points, or 0.39%, to 16,019.27. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.85 points, or 0.13%, to 38,772.54.

Chip stocks extended recent declines, with Nvidia , Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom all ending lower.

Shares of Equitrans Midstream edged up after EQT Corp said on Monday it had decided to buy back its former unit in an all-stock deal. EQT shares slid. ( Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York Additional reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru Editing by Pooja Desai and Matthew Lewis)