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US STOCKS-Wall Street dips amid mounting U.S.-China tensions

Published 20/11/2019, 18:35
© Reuters.  US STOCKS-Wall Street dips amid mounting U.S.-China tensions
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* China condemns U.S. bill on Hong Kong rights

* Trade-sensitive tech, industrial shares slip

* Financials off; 10-yr Treasury yield hits 3-week low

* Target, Lowe's gain on upbeat forecasts

* Indexes down: Dow 0.33%, S&P 0.15%, Nasdaq 0.06%

(Changes comment, updates market action)

By Arjun Panchadar

Nov 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes edged lower on

Wednesday as escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing

raised doubts about a trade deal, overshadowing upbeat earnings

from retailers Target and Lowe's.

China condemned a U.S. Senate measure aimed at protecting

human rights in Hong Kong amid prolonged protests, while U.S.

recession fears also crept back, with the gap between two-year

and 10-year Treasury yields at its narrowest in three weeks.

"It (Hong Kong bill) makes it more difficult to do a trade

deal," said Tom Martin, portfolio manager at Globalt in Atlanta.

"The Congress is doing what they think they should do and

eventually Trump has to put this is perspective on how he wants

to play it."

Target Corp TGT.N and Lowe's Cos Inc LOW.N were the

bright spots, with their shares jumping 12.2% and 5%,

respectively, after the two companies also raised their profit

forecasts. Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with the

communications services .SPLRCL and technology sectors

.SPLRCT weighing the most.

The interest-rate sensitive financial index .SPSY fell

0.4% after the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield hit a

three-week low.

However, the Philadelphia Semiconductor index .SOX pared

some losses on news that the U.S. government had begun issuing

licenses for some companies to supply goods to China's

blacklisted telecommunications company Huawei Technologies Co

Ltd HWT.UL . Expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal, coupled with a

fairly strong third-quarter earning season, have helped 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 11:42 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was

down 91.15 points, or 0.33%, at 27,842.87, the S&P 500 .SPX

was down 4.79 points, or 0.15%, at 3,115.39 and the Nasdaq

Composite .IXIC was down 5.31 points, or 0.06%, at 8,565.35.

Among other stocks, apparel retailer Urban Outfitters Inc

URBN.O slumped 14% after missing quarterly sales estimates on

weaker demand for its namesake brand. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.09-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.41-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 23 new 52-week highs and three new

lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 69 new highs and 64 new lows.

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