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* S&P 500 & Dow hit 2-week low, Nasdaq near 3-week low
* September consumer confidence data weaker than expected
* Retail stocks, Amazon fall after data
* Energy sector tumbles as oil prices fall
* Indexes down: Dow 0.70%, S&P 0.90%, Nasdaq 1.46%
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh
Sept 24 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set for
their worst drops in one month on Tuesday as calls for
impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump gained momentum,
while weak consumer confidence data added to worries over the
prolonged Sino-U.S. trade war.
Losses in U.S. stocks accelerated, with the Dow Industrials
.DJI set for its sharpest drop in three weeks after U.S.
Representative John Lewis on Tuesday became one of the most
senior Democrat leaders in calling for impeachment proceedings
to begin against Trump. Calls from some Democrats for Trump's impeachment for trying
to enlist a foreign power to smear a domestic opponent increased
after a whistleblower from within the U.S. intelligence
community lodged a complaint with an internal watchdog about a
phone conversation between Trump and Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump denied that he had held back U.S. aid to Ukraine as
leverage to initiate an investigation that would damage
Democratic political rival Joe Biden. "The situation between the President and what occurred in
the Ukraine and of course possibly bringing charges towards
(his) impeachment, I think that's what led to the selloff
largely being run by the algorithms," said Robert Pavlik, chief
investment strategist and senior portfolio manager at SlateStone
Wealth LLC in New York.
Wall Street's major indexes lost footing earlier in the day
as Trump took a harsh tone in addressing China's trade
practices, while disappointing consumer confidence data raised
concerns over the economic impact of a prolonged trade war
between the two nations. U.S. stocks had opened higher on positive comments on trade
talks from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The retail index .SPXRT slipped 1.3%, while a 2.2% drop in
ecommerce giant Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O was the biggest drag on
the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC .
The report is a bit of a concern, said Everett Millman,
precious metals specialist at Gainesville Coins in Lutz,
Florida, especially as "consumer confidence has been pretty high
at least in the U.S."
Investors will now look to other data due later this week,
including the Fed's preferred gauge for inflation, for more
clues on the strength of the U.S. economy.
At 13:46 ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 187.54 points, or 0.70%, at 26,762.45, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 27.03 points, or 0.90%, at 2,964.75. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 118.36 points, or 1.46%, at 7,994.11.
The benchmark S&P 500 hit a two-week low.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy
sector .SPNY down 1.8%, tracking a drop in oil prices. O/R
Only the defensive consumer staples .SPLRCS and utilities
.SPLRCU sectors were higher.
Video streaming platform Netflix Inc NFLX.O dropped 4% to
a near nine-month low after Pivotal Research cut its price
target.
Nike Inc NKE.N fell 0.9%, ahead of the world's largest
sportswear maker's first-quarter results after the bell.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.20-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 3.47-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 31 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 36 new highs and 83 new lows.