(Fixes spelling error in second bullet point)
* Rate-sensitive financials weigh on S&P 500, Dow
* Geopolitical tensions drive flight to safe-haven assets
* All 11 major S&P sectors lower
* Amgen up after winning U.S. patent battle over arthritis
drug
* Indexes down: Dow 1.17%, S&P 1.06%, Nasdaq 1.00%
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped in a broad
sell-off on Monday as rising geopolitical tensions spooked
investors away from equities and the extended U.S.-China trade
war stoked fears of impending global recession.
All three major U.S. stock indexes started the week in the
red, with few earnings reports and no economic data to soothe
market jitters over protests in Hong Kong, the rejection of
Argentine President Mauricio Macri's economic agenda in primary
elections, and a tariff dispute that has beleaguered markets for
months. "It's the end of summer so a lot of market players aren't on
the job," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T
Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. "It happens seemingly
every August where we have events that move the market out of
proportion to the events."
Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N said on Sunday that its
economists see recessionary risks increasing as the trade war
between the world's two largest economies drags on, and no
longer expect a resolution before the 2020 U.S. presidential
election. The move away from risk sent gold prices higher and U.S.
Treasury yields lower. "It's a flight to safety given the global situation, from
Hong Kong to Strait of Hormuz," Hellwig added.
Data on inflation, housing starts and retail sales are due
later in the week, and will be scrutinized by market
participants for signs of economic softening.
"Consumer confidence has held up well so we'll see where the
rubber meets the road with retail sales," said Hellwig.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 308.75 points,
or 1.17%, to 25,978.69, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 30.85 points, or
1.06%, to 2,887.8 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 79.90
points, or 1%, to 7,879.24.
All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 were in the red, with
financials .SPSY , energy .SPNY and materials .SPLRCM
suffering the largest percentage losses.
Second-quarter reporting season is approaching the finish
line, with 452 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported.
Of those, 73.5% have beaten consensus estimates.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, there have been 58
negative pre-announcements compared with 19 positive, resulting
in a 3.1 negative-positive ratio, higher than 2.7 average since
1997.
Streaming platform Roku Inc ROKU.O gained 6.2% after a
research note from Needham picked the stock over larger rival
Netflix Inc NFLX.O . Shares of Amgen Inc AMGN.O were up 4.5% following a court
ruling that upheld two patents relating to its drug Enbrel.
Coach owner Tapestry Inc TPR.N and Versace owner Capri
CPRI.N dropped 4.1% and 4.3%, respectively, after Chinese
social media took the companies to talks for selling T-shirts
that showed Chinese-controlled territories of Hong Kong and
Macau as countries. Media companies CBS Corp CBS.N and Viacom Inc VIAB.O are
in the final stages of negotiating an all-stock merger that
values Viacom at a discount to its closing price on Friday,
sending Viacom shares down 4.5%. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
2.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.98-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and 20 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 38 new highs and 138 new lows.