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* Home Depot, Kohl's drop on full-year forecast cuts
* U.S.-China trade, impeachment inquiry add uncertainty
* Indexes: Dow down 0.36%, S&P off 0.06%, Nasdaq up 0.24%
(Updates to close, adds commentary)
By Sinéad Carew
NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial
Average .DJI and the S&P 500 .SPX fell from record levels on
Tuesday as dour forecasts from retailers Home Depot and Kohl's
fueled worries about consumer spending and the U.S.-China trade
dispute dragged on.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to
escalate the trade war by raising tariffs on Chinese imports if
no deal is reached with Beijing.
Home Depot Inc HD.N fell 5.4% and was the top drag on the
benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow after the No.1 U.S. home
improvement chain cut its 2019 sales forecast for the second
time this year. Also, department store operator Kohl's Corp KSS.N slumped
19.5% after slashing its annual profit forecast and missing
quarterly comparable sales and earnings estimates. Expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal and a largely
better-than-expected third-quarter corporate earnings season had
fueled an equities rally in recent weeks that helped all three
indexes set record highs. Nasdaq barely extended its record on
Tuesday with a 0.24% gain.
"The market wants to move up but there's too much gravel in
the path," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer for
Commonwealth Financial Network, an independent broker-dealer in
Waltham, Mass.
The weak retailer forecasts came as investors are laser
focused on consumer spending as the key to U.S. economic growth.
"Is the consumer really going to show up in the fourth
quarter? I'm less convinced than I was in a couple of weeks
ago," said McMillan.
Public hearings for the impeachment inquiry against Trump,
also added to uncertainty, the money manager said. On Tuesday a
White House official said the president's request that Ukraine
investigate a domestic political rival was an improper "demand,"
and he fended off Republican efforts to cast doubt on his
competence and loyalty to the United States.
"We continue to see the news come out against the president
and from a market perspective that's a negative. On a slow day
its not going to make people feel good," said McMillan.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 102.2 points,
or 0.36%, to 27,934.02, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.85 points, or
0.06%, to 3,120.18 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 20.72
points, or 0.24%, to 8,570.66.
Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors fell, with the
consumer discretionary index's .SPLRCD 0.97% drop weighing
most. The S&P 500 retail index .SPXRT fell 1.24%.
The energy sector .SPNY was the S&P's biggest percentage
loser with a 1.5% drop as oil prices fell on concerns about
excess global supply and the demand outlook due to a lack of
progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute. O/R
Investors will be watching for earnings reports from other
retailers, including Lowe's Cos Inc LOW.N , Target Corp TGT.N
and Nordstrom Inc JWN.N later this week.
They will also look for more details on the Fed's monetary
policy stance from Wednesday's release of the central bank's
minutes from the latest policy meeting, in which it cut interest
rates for the third time this year but signaled it may be done
with rate easing for now.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.04-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.46-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 41 new 52-week highs and two new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 109 new highs and 109 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.70 billion shares compared
with the average of 6.94 billion for the last 20 sessions.