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* Autozone up after profit beat
* Netflix drops after Needham downgrade
* Federal Reserve decision awaited on Wednesday
* Indexes fall: Dow 0.1%, S&P 500 0.11%, Nasdaq 0.07%
(Updates to close of U.S. market)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock
indexes ended slightly lower on Tuesday, though not far from
record highs, as investors awaited concrete news on whether a
new round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods would take effect on
Dec. 15, a potential turning point in a trade dispute between
the world's two largest economies that has convulsed markets.
Stock futures got a boost in premarket trade when the Wall
Street Journal said U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators were
laying the groundwork for a delay in the tariffs, but White
House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said later that no decision
had been made. A delay would be seen as helping to pave the way for an
initial U.S.-China trade deal, optimism over which has helped
fuel the market's recent run to records.
"I don't think that the markets are going to be completely
comfortable until there is a line drawn in the sand that says no
new tariffs on the 15th," said Nela Richardson, investment
strategist at Edward Jones.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 27.88 points,
or 0.1%, to 27,881.72, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 3.44 points, or
0.11%, to 3,132.52 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 5.64
points, or 0.07%, to 8,616.18.
The S&P 500 has climbed about 25% so far in 2019, driven by
three interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve and some
relief over corporate profits, along with improved investor
sentiment on trade.
The Fed is due to give its latest policy decision on
Wednesday; the market expects the U.S. central bank to hold
rates steady. Investors also have their eyes on the European
Central Bank meeting on Thursday and U.S. inflation data later
in the week.
“I think the markets are just hanging tight until we get
those announcements,” said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at
Kingsview Investment Management in Chicago.
In another trade-related development, Canada, Mexico and the
United States agreed to an overhaul of their quarter-century-old
regional trade pact, but stocks largely shrugged off the news.
Most S&P 500 sectors ended lower on Tuesday, with real
estate .SPLRCR and materials .SPLRCM falling the most.
In company news, shares in Autozone Inc AZO.N jumped 6.9%
after the auto parts retailer beat quarterly profit estimates.
Boeing Co BA.N shares dipped 0.9% after the plane maker
said it delivered fewer than half as many planes in the first 11
months of 2019 as in the same period a year earlier.
Netflix Inc NFLX.O shares fell 3.1% after a Needham
analyst downgraded her rating on the stock and said competition
could lead to the loss of 4 million premium U.S. subscribers
next year. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.02-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.09-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and two new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 83 new highs and 66 new lows.
About 6.3 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges,
below the 6.7 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.