US STOCKS-Wall Street pauses after two-day run higher

* U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) . durable goods orders surge, business spending weak

* Fed's Powell eyes rate hike 'fairly soon'

* Abercrombie slumps after sales fall for 13th straight quarter

* Indexes: Dow off 0.13 pct, S&P down 0.02 pct, Nasdaq (NasdaqGS: NDAQ - news) up 0.14 pct (Updates to close)

By Noel Randewich

May 26 (Reuters) - Wall Street treaded water on Thursday following two days of strong gains as advancing defensive sectors offset declines in materials, banks and other cyclical industries.

Investors this week have grown more comfortable with expectations the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as June, with many taking the view that such a hike would reflect improvement in the country's economy.

After gaining 2 percent over the previous two sessions, the S&P 500 traded near flat, with a 1.1 percent dip in the materials index partly offset by a 1.1 percent rise in utilities.

"People are taking their foot off the gas after making a bunch of money, and now they're waiting for the next data point," said Phil Blancato, chief executive of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York.

In line with other policymakers who have spoken in recent days, Fed Governor Jerome Powell said a rate hike may come "fairly soon" if data confirms the U.S. economy is continuing to grow and labor markets are still tightening

Data showed that while orders for U.S. durable goods surged in April, business spending plans continued to show signs of weakness, suggesting the manufacturing rout was far from over.

Recently trading near 16.5 times expected earnings, the S&P 500 appears fairly priced, said Michael Mussio, managing director with FBB Capital Partners. "We're not expecting any significant increase in earnings for the S&P 500 this year compared to last year," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23.22 points, or 0.13 percent, to 17,828.29, the S&P 500 lost 0.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,090.1 and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.88 points, or 0.14 percent, to 4,901.77.

Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) shares rose 0.61 percent, providing the largest boost to the S&P 500, while Microsoft (Euronext: MSF.NX - news) dipped 0.81 percent, weighing most on the index.

Discount retailers Dollar General rose over 5 percent and Dollar Tree (NasdaqGS: DLTR - news) rallied 13 percent, both hitting record highs after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profits.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF - news) shares slumped 17 percent to $21.09 after the retailer posted its 13th straight quarter of sales declines.

Costco Wholesale rose 3.7 percent a day after posting quarterly earnings.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,550 to 1,448, while on the Nasdaq, 1,507 issues fell and 1,269 advanced.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq recorded 55 new highs and 26 new lows. (Additional reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Dan Grebler)