The main US stock indices fell moderately, stepping back from record levels, as investors took a break to assess the situation with trade negotiations between the US and China, as well as a new reporting unit for retailers.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing former officials from President Trump’s administration, said current trade negotiations could be at an impasse that could disrupt the signing of the so-called first phase of the deal. Uncertainty surrounding trade also grew after the US Senate passed a bill supporting protesters in Hong Kong. This has led China to accuse the US of meddling in internal affairs.

These reports came after US President Donald Trump threatened again on Tuesday, raising tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing didn’t make a deal. “If we don’t make a deal with China, I’ll just raise the tariffs even higher,” Trump said at a government meeting.

Negatives, however, helped somewhat soften quarterly results and forecasts from Target (TGT) and Lowe's (LOW). Target (TGT) reported a profit of 1.36 per share for revenue of $ 18.41 billion (+ 4.7% y / y). Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected the company to earn $ 1.19 per share on revenue of $ 18.49 billion. Comparable sales, a key indicator for retailers, rose 4.5%, exceeding the estimate of + 3.6%. TGT shares jumped 14.19%.

Lowe's (LOW) reported quarterly earnings of $ 1.41 per share, compared with an average analyst forecast of $ 1.35. However, the revenue of a retailer of goods for home improvement was below the average market forecast. Nevertheless, the company raised its forecast for earnings per share for the whole year and confirmed the forecast for annual revenue. LOW shares rose 3.54%.

Most DOW components recorded a decline (19 out of 30). Outsider were the shares of The Home Depot (HD; -2.10%). The biggest gainers were The Boeing Company (BA; + 1.01%).

Almost all S&P sectors completed trading in the red. The largest decline was shown by the services sector (-0.8%). The utilities sector grew the most (+ 0.5%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 27,821.09 -112.93 -0.40%

S&P 500 3,108.46  -11.72 -0.38%

Nasdaq 100 8,526.73 -43.93 -0.51%

U.S. stock-index futures fell on Wednesday, as worries over U.S.-China trade relations outweighed positive earnings results and guidance from Target (TGT; +10.0%) and Lowe's (LOW; +4.4).

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) initiated with Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald; target $160

Lowe's (LOW) reported Q3 FY 2019 earnings of $1.41 per share (versus $1.04 in Q3 FY 2018), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.35.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $17.388 bln (-0.2% y/y), missing analysts’ consensus estimate of $17.687 bln.

The company also raised FY 2019 EPS guidance to 5.63-5.70, up from its prior guidance of $5.45-5.65, vs. analysts’ consensus estimate of $5.67 and reaffirmed FY 2019 revenues guidance at ~72-74 bln (+2% yr/yr) vs. analysts’ consensus estimate of $72.53 bln.

LOW rose to $117.46 (+3.58%) in pre-market trading.

Target (TGT) reported Q3 FY 2019 earnings of $1.36 per share (versus $1.09 in Q3 FY 2018), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.18.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $18.414 bln (+4.7% y/y), generally in line with analysts’ consensus estimate of $18.450 bln.

The company also raised FY 2019 EPS guidance to $6.25-6.45 vs. analysts’ consensus estimate of $6.17 and its prior guidance of $5.90-6.20.

TGT rose to $121.00 (+9.16%) in pre-market trading.