US STOCKS-S&P 500 flat as investors weigh trade tensions; TJX surges

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* Discount retailer TJX biggest boost to S&P 500
* U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo takes new jab at
Beijing
* Weekly unemployment claims fall from prior reading
* Indexes mixed: Dow up 0.21%, S&P flat, Nasdaq off 0.15%

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By Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh
May 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index was largely unchanged
on Thursday as growing U.S.-China trade tensions and concerns
about a rebound from a coronavirus-led economic slump were
offset by an upbeat outlook from retailer TJX.
The discount chain's shares .TJX jumped 7.6% to a more
than two-month high and were the biggest boost to the benchmark
S&P 500 .SPX after it flagged strong sales at its stores that
had reopened post-coronavirus lockdowns. A fall in unemployment claims from the previous week also
lifted sentiment as the reading reaffirmed views that the worst
of the pandemic's damage on the labor market was over.
"The trajectory of job losses has come down dramatically
(and) as you're going to start to see the reopening of several
states, we will see some jobs come back," said Edward Moya,
senior market analyst at OANDA.
"We're probably in for a couple more weeks of bad initial
jobless claims and then we're going start to see things bottom
out."
A Wall Street rally from April has slowed this month as
investors weighed massive stimulus measures against worsening
economic indicators and the return of U.S.-China trade tensions
to the forefront.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo further
criticized Beijing's handling of the outbreak. At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 50.65 points, or 0.21%, at 24,626.55, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 0.36 points, or 0.01%, at 2,971.25, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 14.41 points, or 0.15%, at 9,361.37.
Analysts said investors were now watching for the S&P 500 to
cross 3,000 points, a key psychological level that could bolster
risk appetite.
Eight of the major 11 S&P indexes were trading higher, with
the consumer discretionary index .SPLRCD leading gains.
Best Buy Co Inc BBY.N fell 2.1% as the electronics
retailer reported a 5.3% drop in quarterly same-store sales due
to the virus, while L Brands Inc LB.N surged 15.2% despite
posting worse-than-expected quarterly results. TJX's smaller rival Ross Stores Inc ROST.O jumped 7.8%.
Advancing issues almost matched decliners on the NYSE and
the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 31 new highs and two new lows.