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* Trump to restore steel, aluminum import tariffs
* U.S. manufacturing contracts in Nov. for 4th straight
month
* Online holiday spending seen hitting record
* Indexes fall: Dow 0.67%, S&P 0.62%, Nasdaq 0.95%
(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
Dec 2 (Reuters) - Wall Street retreated on Monday as
disappointing U.S. economic data and fresh trade worries
dampened investor risk appetite.
All three major U.S. stock averages began the last month of
the year in the red, pulling back from last week's record highs.
"It's a quiet day as investors recover from Thanksgiving. As
investors settle back at their desks," said David Carter, chief
investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York.
A report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM)
showed U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in November for
the fourth consecutive month, fueling worries that the longest
period of economic expansion in U.S. history could be growing
short-winded. Earlier, President Donald Trump tweeted that he would
restore tariffs on steel imported from Brazil and Argentina,
boosting shares of U.S. steel makers U.S. Steel Corp X.N and
AK Steel Holding Corp AKS.N by 3.5% and 5.6%, respectively.
Still, it was the latest sign that the hydra-headed trade
disputes between the United States and its trading partners will
continue to rattle markets and hinder global economic growth.
The news comes on the heels of recent Wall Street highs,
driven to new records last week on hopes of an imminent "phase
one" trade deal between the U.S. and China.
Indeed, a senior adviser to Trump said on Monday it was
still possible that a deal with China could be reached by
year-end.
"Markets have had a great run this year and expectations are
already high that a trade deal gets done," Carter added. "Any
reversal here is likely to negatively impact markets, which is
likely what we're seeing today."
"The most recent tariff tweet has reminded markets that
there's a lot of uncertainty around trade policy and U.S.
actions," said Carter.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 187.67 points,
or 0.67%, to 27,863.74, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 19.4 points, or
0.62%, to 3,121.58 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
82.29 points, or 0.95%, to 8,583.18.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, only energy .SPNY
was in the black, boosted by rising crude oil prices CLcl .
Real estate .SPLRCR , technology .SPLRCT and
communications services .SPLRCL were the largest percentage
losers.
Investors eyed retail stocks, as Cyber Monday sales were
expected to hit a record following $11.6 billion in online sales
on Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Among other stocks, Roku Inc ROKU.O dropped 12.7%
following Morgan Stanley's downgrade to "underweight".
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
2.61-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.58-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 33 new lows.