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* China condemns U.S. bill on Hong Kong rights
* Trade-sensitive chip stocks, industrials slip
* Financials off; 10-yr Treasury yield hits 2-1/2 week low
* Target, Lowe's gain on upbeat forecasts
* Indexes down: 0.29%, S&P 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.11%
(Updates to open)
By Arjun Panchadar
Nov 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street edged lower on Wednesday, as
hopes of a trade deal receded following an escalation in
tensions between Washington and Beijing that also overshadowed
upbeat forecasts from retailers Target and Lowe's.
China condemned a U.S. Senate measure aimed at protecting
human rights in Hong Kong amid prolonged protests, further
souring the mood after President Donald Trump warned he would
raise tariffs if no deal was reached. "China has been clear that they don't want to see any
foreign interference in Hong Kong. That's the real negative to
start today's market," said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane
Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New
Jersey.
Investors looked past solid reports from Target Corp TGT.N
and Lowe's Cos Inc LOW.N , a day after dour forecasts from Home
Depot Inc HD.N and Kohl's Corp KSS.N had sparked fears over
the strength of the U.S. consumer. Six of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with the
financials index's .SPSY 0.6% drop weighing the most after the
benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hit a 2-1/2 week low.
Recent data has pointed to a resilient U.S. economy, but
recession fears are creeping back, with the gap between 2-year
and 10-year Treasury yields at its narrowest in more than two
weeks. US/
The communications services .SPLRCL and energy .SPNY
sectors were the other big decliners, while the trade-sensitive
Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX slipped 0.7%.
Hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal, coupled with a fairly
strong third-quarter earning season, has seen Wall Street's main
indexes scale record highs this month.
Focus now turns to the release of minutes from the Federal
Reserve's October policy meeting later in the day. The central
bank cut interest rates for the third time this year at the
meeting, but signaled it may be done with the easing for now.
At 10:15 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 81.33 points, or 0.29%, at 27,852.69, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 5.91 points, or 0.19%, at 3,114.27 and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 9.38 points, or 0.11%, at
8,561.28.
Among other stocks, apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc
URBN.O slumped 14% after missing quarterly sales estimates on
weaker demand for its namesake brand. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.18-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a
1.07-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 18 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 49 new highs and 50 new lows.