US STOCKS-Wall Street slips on political tensions, recession fears

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* Rate-sensitive banks shares fall
* Political uncertainty helps safe heaven assets rally
* Ten of 11 major S&P sectors lower
* Amgen up after winning U.S. patent battle over arthritis
drug
* Indexes down: Dow 0.75%, S&P 0.65%, Nasdaq 0.64%

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By Medha Singh
Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Monday as
political tensions around the world and fears that a prolonged
U.S.-China trade war would push the global economy into
recession sapped risk appetite.
Protests in Hong Kong that crippled one of the busiest
airports of the world and defeat of President Mauricio Macri
during primary elections in Argentina bolstered demand for
safe-haven assets, including the Japanese yen, gold and U.S.
Treasuries. US/ Over the weekend, Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N said fears
of the U.S.-China trade war leading to a recession were growing
and that it no longer expected a trade deal before the 2020 U.S.
presidential election. Trade-related worries have pulled the benchmark S&P 500
.SPX about 4% away from its all-time high hit in late-July.
"I don't think the trade war is going to end any time soon,
it could drag on into 2020 ... then you have geopolitical
concerns," said Ryan Nauman, market strategist at Informa
Financial Intelligence in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.
"There isn't a whole lot that investors can hang their hats
on right now. You just don't have solid corporate earnings or
real strong fundamentals other than the labor market."
At 10:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 198.31 points, or 0.75%, at 26,089.13, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 18.95 points, or 0.65%, at 2,899.70. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 51.14 points, or 0.64%, at 7,908.00.
Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors were in the red, with the
S&P 500 financial index .SPNY shedding 0.85% and leading the
losers. The bank sub-sector .SPXBK tumbled 1.64%, as lower
bond yields hit shares of interest-rate sensitive lenders.
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O fell
about 0.6% each, weighing heavily on the S&P 500.
Amgen Inc AMGN.O rose 4.6% as a U.S. judge upheld two
patents relating to blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug
Enbrel, denying a challenge by Novartis AG NOVN.S , which is
seeking to launch a copycat version. 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, two sources told
Reuters. Viacom shares fell 3.6%. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.10-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.84-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 19 new 52-week highs and 12 new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 111 new lows.