US STOCKS-Wall St muted as Apple overshadows positive trade deal cues

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* Medtronic, J.M. Smucker rise after results
* Best Buy warns of slowing sales growth, shares fall
* U.S. consumer confidence hits six-year low
* Indexes dip: Dow 0.30%, S&P 0.05%, Nasdaq 0.15%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Aug 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes slipped on
Tuesday following a three-day rally as a drop in Apple shares
overshadowed optimism from remarks made by U.S. and China
officials in pledging firm commitment to a Phase One trade deal.
The benchmark S&P 500 opened at a record high as the news
eased some concerns that the deal could be on shaky ground.
Investors also anticipate the centerpiece event of the week - an
annual conference of U.S. central bankers where Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak. "Both countries believe it's in their interest to cut a deal
and are making noise that they don't want to let political
concerns to interfere with the trade and also disrupt the world
economy," said Christopher Grisanti, chief equity strategist at
MAI Capital Management in Cleveland, Ohio.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq logged new closing highs on
Monday, boosted by signs of progress in developing treatments
and vaccines for COVID-19. The benchmark index surpassed its
pre-pandemic high last week even as recent economic indicators
signaled a bumpy recovery from the virus-led downturn.
A survey from the Conference Board showed U.S. consumer
confidence unexpectedly fell in August to hit a six-year low.
Among stocks, Salesforce.com Inc CRM.N , Amgen Inc AMGN.O
and Honeywell International Inc HON.N climbed between 2.9% and
5% on news they would join the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial
Average index .DJIA on Aug. 31. Cloud computing heavyweight Salesforce.com is also expected
to report second-quarter results after markets close.
The three companies will replace Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N ,
Pfizer Inc PFE.N and Raytheon Technologies Corp RTX.N , which
were down between 1.4% and 1.9%.
Apple Inc AAPL.O slipped 1.7%, set to snap a five-day
winning streak and weighing heavily on the three main indexes.
At 10:08 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 85.39 points, or 0.30%, at 28,223.07, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 1.85 points, or 0.05%, at 3,429.43. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 17.34 points, or 0.15%, at 11,362.38.
The healthcare sector .SPXHC , which got a lift from Amgen
and Medtronic shares, as well as economically-sensitive
financials .SPSY and industrials .SPLRCI , outperformed among
the major S&P sectors.
Medtronic MDT.N rose 3.7% after the company said demand
for medical devices was improving as elective surgeries picked
up pace while it posted a plunge in first-quarter profit.
J.M. Smucker Co SJM.N jumped 8.3% after the Folgers coffee
maker raised its forecast for fiscal 2021 adjusted profit.
Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co Inc BBY.N fell
7% as it warned sales growth may slow in the coming weeks.
Advancing issues matched decliners on the NYSE and
outnumbered them by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 21 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 38 new highs and 12 new lows.