Facebook, Nike drag Wall Street lower, data limits losses

By April Joyner

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Declines in Facebook and Nike shares weighed on the S&P 500 and the Dow on Tuesday, although data showing U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated in August kept losses in check.

Facebook Inc shares fell 2.4 percent after brokerage MoffettNathanson downgraded the social media company, warning of revenue growth deceleration.

Shares of other technology companies, including Alphabet , Microsoft Corp and Twitter Inc also slid, while the S&P 500 technology index <.SPLRCT> dropped 0.3 percent.

On the Dow, Nike Inc shares fell 2.8 percent as the company faced a backlash after it chose Colin Kaepernick, the first NFL player to kneel during the national anthem as a protest against racism, to participate in a new ad campaign.

 

Concerns about trade, including the prospect of additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, lingered, investors said. Pressures in emerging markets, including a slump in the South African rand, also contributed to a risk-off mood.

"The things that were on the market's radar last week, in a vacuum of other news, have taken centre stage," said Michael Antonelli, managing director of institutional sales trading at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. "The market is still in the first or second gear of getting to normal after the summer."

Yet Amazon Inc briefly touched $1 trillion in market capitalisation, joining Apple Inc in achieving that milestone, after its shares rose as much as 1.9 percent to hit a record $2,050.50. Amazon shares were last up 1.4 percent to $2,041.24.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> fell 26.32 points, or 0.1 percent, to 25,938.5, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 6.31 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,895.21 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 19.40 points, or 0.24 percent, to 8,090.14.

Earlier, the indexes pared losses after data from the Institute for Supply Management showed U.S. manufacturing activity accelerated to more than a 14-year high in August, boosted by a surge in new orders.

Consultations on a U.S. proposal for new tariffs on Chinese goods is set to end on Sept. 6, after which U.S. President Donald Trump can follow through on plans to impose levies on $200 billion more of Chinese imports, though it is unclear how quickly that will happen.

Talks between Canada and the United States to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ended on a sour note on Friday, but officials set plans to resume their talks on Wednesday.

Verizon Communications Inc shares slipped 2.3 percent after Barclays downgraded the wireless carrier's stock.

Shares of Western Digital Corp fell 5.5 percent and Seagate Technology PLC shares dropped 7.6 percent after Evercore ISI downgraded shares of the hard-disk drive makers.

Shares of JD.com Inc slid 5.9 percent after the Chinese retailer's chief executive officer was arrested in the United States on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct and later released.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.87-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.47-to-1 ratio favoured decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 52 new 52-week highs and eight new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 144 new highs and 48 new lows.

(Reporting by April Joyner; Additional reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Susan Thomas)