* J.B. Hunt jumps after strong DCS performance
* Banking index marginally down
* Goldman Sachs rises after profit beat
* June retail sales better than expected
* Indexes down: Dow 0.12%, S&P down 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.37%
(Changes quote, adds details, updates prices)
By Medha Singh
July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes edged lower on
Tuesday as results from Wall Street's big lenders rekindled
concerns about banks coming under pressure to boost profits when
the Federal Reserve is seen cutting interest rates as early as
this month.
JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N and Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N
beat quarterly profit estimates but reported weaker net interest
income, pointing to rising deposit costs. "Much of the outlook remains very unclear for the sector,
with falling rates and the potential for further economic
weakness in the United States," said Joshua Mahony, senior
market analyst with IG. "The banks must show that they can
continue to perform in an environment of lower rates and less
help from the government."
The banking subsector .SPXBK was down 0.19%, compared to a
marginal gain in the S&P 500 financial index .SPSY .
JPM was marginally higher, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc
GS.N - the least rate-sensitive of the three banks that
reported - rose 1.2%. Wells Fargo slipped 2.1%.
The three indexes moved lower after President Donald Trump
said there was a long way to go with China on trade and
threatened to put tariffs on another $325 billion of Chinese
goods. Earnings season gathers steam this week and profit at S&P
500 companies is likely to dip 0.1%, which would be the first
quarterly drop in three years, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc JBHT.O jumped 7.1%, the
biggest gainer on the benchmark S&P 500, after the transport and
logistics provider posted strong quarterly performance in its
second biggest unit DCS.
The gains also lifted the Dow Jones transport index .DJT
2.31% higher and helped industrials .SPLRCI rise 0.7%, one of
the four major S&P sectors in positive territory.
At 12:08 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 33.01 points, or 0.12%, at 27,326.15, and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 8.13 points, or 0.27%, at 3,006.17. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 30.26 points, or 0.37%, at 8,227.92.
Dow Industrials member .DJI Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N fell
1.4% after the diversified healthcare company warned that
competition from generic and copycat drugs could impact its
third-quarter results. Economic data was a bright spot. A Commerce Department
report showed retail sales increased more than expected in June,
while a Federal Reserve report indicated that U.S. manufacturing
output accelerated for the second straight month. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.27-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.37-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 50 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 61 new highs and 45 new lows.