US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow edge lower after mixed retail earnings

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* Walmart surges on strong Q1 results
* Advance Auto Parts rises on Q2 same-stores sales potential
* Home Depot drops after Q1 results miss estimates
* Indexes mixed: Dow off 0.56%, S&P down 0.20%, Nasdaq up
0.36%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Ambar Warrick
May 19 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes eased
on Tuesday, handing back some gains from a strong rally in the
previous session, as investors digested a mixed set of quarterly
results from retailers including Home Depot and Walmart.
Home improvement chain Home Depot HD.N fell 1.9% as it
missed quarterly profit estimates due to higher costs, while
department store operator Kohl's Corp KSS.N slumped 6.1% after
reporting a bigger-than-expected loss. Walmart Inc WMT.N , on the other hand, gained 1.7% after
posting a jump in first-quarter U.S. comparable sales as online
sales soared due to stockpiling of essentials during the
coronavirus-related lockdown. "Home Depot's earnings report shows we shouldn't assume
businesses deemed essential with a strong online presence are
entirely immune from the effects of the virus," said Mike
Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E*TRADE
Financial Corp.
Trillions of dollars in stimulus has helped the S&P 500
rebound more than 34% from its March lows. Although it is now
just about 13% below its record high, the pace of the rally has
slowed in May owing to uncertainty over the outbreak and rising
U.S.-China tensions.
The benchmark index jumped more than 3% on Monday, boosted
by promising early stage data for a potential COVID-19 vaccine
and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's pledge to support the
economy as needed until the current crisis has passed.
Attention now turns to testimony by Powell and U.S. Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin before the Senate Banking Committee
about the government's handling of its massive economic response
to the health crisis. "By far the biggest focus for markets are variables attached
to medical news, (followed by) actions from central banks and
fiscal policymakers," said Tim Shaler, chief economist for
iTrustCapital in Newport Beach, California.
At 9:57 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 136.92 points, or 0.56%, at 24,460.45, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 5.92 points, or 0.20%, at 2,947.99, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 33.17 points, or 0.36%, at 9,268.00.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading lower, led by
financial .SPSY and energy stocks .SPNY . Technology
.SPLRCT and consumer discretionary .SPLRCD edged slightly
higher.
Advance Auto Parts AAP.N jumped 7.3% after the company
said same-store sales improved significantly at the start of
second quarter. Declining issues outnumbered more than 2-to-1 on the NYSE
and nearly matched them on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and three new lows.