* Trump to decide on $300 bln China tariffs after G20 summit
* ECB cuts its growth forecasts for 2020, 2021
* Energy stocks gain as oil prices firm
* AMD rises on Morgan Stanley upgrade
* Dow up 0.29%, S&P rises 0.23%, Nasdaq flat
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Shreyashi Sanyal
June 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes edged higher
in choppy trading on Thursday, as expectations of a supportive
central bank kept in check worries of a flare up in trade
tensions after President Donald Trump's fresh China tariffs
threat.
Trump said he would decide on more tariffs "probably right
after the G20" meeting later this month, which followed his
warning overnight to levy duties on at least another $300
billion worth of Chinese goods. The trade-sensitive industrial sector .SPLRCI fell 0.41%,
the biggest decliner among the four major sectors lower.
Federal Reserve policymakers have hinted they would be ready
to cut rates if the U.S.-China trade spat threatens a
decade-long expansion. Since early May, Trump has slapped new
tariffs on Chinese imports and warned of U.S. levies on Mexico.
"While the escalation in China is important, the fact that
he chose to go after Mexico is more important in fears
surrounding trade overall," said Matt Ruffalo, chartered
financial analyst at Clarfeld Financial Advisors.
"That's why investor fears regarding trade have heightened
but there has been somewhat of an overshadowing by earlier
comments around the Fed."
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank's decision not to raise
interest rates in the next year led to a flattening of the U.S.
Treasury yield curve, which came off its steepest level in seven
months the day before. US/
The ECB also underscored the threat to global economic
expansion from the trade disputes by trimming the region's
growth forecasts for the next two years.
At 13:08 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 75.13 points, or 0.29%, at 25,614.70, while the S&P 500
.SPX was up 6.37 points, or 0.23%, at 2,832.52. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 1.93 points, or 0.03%, at 7,573.55.
If current levels hold, the S&P 500 would clock the third
straight session of gains.
The energy sector .SPNY , which was the hardest hit last
month by heightening trade tensions, rose 1.21%, the most among
the major S&P sectors, as crude prices steadied. O/R
Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N was up 1.5% and Chevron
Corp CVX.N rose 2.0%.
Advanced Micro Devices Inc AMD.O rose 6.9%, to the top of
S&P 500, after Morgan Stanley upgraded the chipmaker's stock to
"equal-weight" from "underweight".
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.14-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.75-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 74 new 52-week highs and four new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 52 new highs and 124 new lows.