Market Report

As trade fears gain, stocks slip after 6 days on rise

Trader Timothy Nick, left, and specialist Dilip Patel work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Timothy Nick, left, and specialist Dilip Patel work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks fell Tuesday for the first time in six days after the recent upward momentum gave way to lingering concerns about the U.S. trade war with China.

The S&P 500 slipped 1.01 point, or 0.03%, to 2,885.72. The Dow fell 14.17 points, or 0.05%, to 26,048.51. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.60 of a point to end at 7,822.57. The Russell 2000 index of small companies fell 4.45 points, or 0.3%, to 1,519.11.

Defense contractors suffered steep declines and technology stocks gave up most of their early gains, taking the steam out of a morning rally on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average closed with a loss of 14 points after rising as many as 186 points just after trading began.

The market had rallied for five straight days since the Federal Reserve signaled it is open to cutting interest rates if needed to stabilize the economy rattled by trade disputes. The gains had erased much of the S&P 500's 6.6% decline in May. But Tuesday, concerns that the U.S. trade spat with China could be prolonged and hurt growth in the world's two biggest economies dimmed investor enthusiasm.

Katie Nixon, chief investment officer at Northern Trust Wealth Management, said there is no clear resolution in sight to the trade war and investors will have to get accustomed to uncertainty hanging over the market.

"The market's going to be really sensitive to trade news," she said. "This is going to be very hard to resolve neatly and quickly."

President Donald Trump has said he plans to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 summit later this month in Osaka, Japan. But Trump reiterated Tuesday that if the two can't reach an agreement on trade, he'll proceed with tariffs on $300 billion in goods from China that aren't already subject to import taxes.

Defense companies were the biggest decliners in the S&P 500. The market on Monday welcomed news of a merger between Raytheon and United Technologies, but the stocks dropped sharply Tuesday. Raytheon lost 5.1% and United Technologies shed 4%. On Monday, Trump expressed some reservations about the Raytheon-United Technologies tie-up.

Consumer-focused stocks and Internet companies were among the gainers. Facebook rose 1.9% and Verizon gained 1.2%. Walgreen Co. rose 1.1% and Dollar Tree rose 2.7%.

John Lynch, chief investment strategist at LPL Research, said in a note to clients that a trade deal with China "is unlikely until more economic pain is incurred by both China and the United States." That pain will eventually push the two sides to strike a deal, he said.

Both Lynch and Nixon said that the longer the trade war goes on, and tariffs are in place against Chinese goods, the more likely it is that the Fed will cut rates. The futures market is indicating that investors expect the Fed to cut its benchmark interest rate as early as its July policy meeting.

Nixon noted that the bond market has been sending the Fed a clear message that the central bank is behind the curve on lowering rates. The volatile stock market, weak economic data and higher bond prices are all potential catalysts for a rate change.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note has dropped from around 2.50% in early May to 2.14% Tuesday.

Meanwhile, one of the market's recent high-fliers had a rare bad day.

Beyond Meat fell 25% after J.P. Morgan's Ken Goldman and James Allen downgraded the stock to "neutral." The downgrade follows a surge in the stock price from $25 to $167 since the maker of plant-based meat alternatives started trading publicly on May 2. In a note to clients Tuesday, Goldman and Allen said the downgrade was "purely a valuation call."

Business on 06/12/2019

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