Dow drops more than 100 points on report 'phase one' trade deal may not be completed this year
Stocks fell on Wednesday, pulling back from record highs after Reuters reported a so-called phase one trade deal between China and the U.S. may not be completed by the end of 2019.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 112.93 points, or 0.4% to close at 27,821.09. The S&P 500 slid 0.4% to 3,108.46 while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.5% to end the day at 8,526.73.
"It looks like some of the story-lines that have been intertwined with the market have started to put up more of a headwind for stocks," said Daniel Deming, managing director at KKM Financial. "The market is having more trouble navigating this landscape and it's primarily due to the fact that the trade situation has stalled."
Apple shares dropped to close 1.2% lower along with Caterpillar. The VanEck Vector Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was down 1%. Broadcom pulled back 1.9% while Analog Devices and Qualcomm both closed more than 2% lower.
Reuters reported, citing trade experts and people close to the Trump administration, the completion of a partial trade deal could be pushed into 2020 as China seeks more extensive tariff rollbacks. That report came after The Wall Street Journal said, citing former Trump administration officials, that the ongoing trade talks could hit an impasse. Uncertainty around trade also grew after the Senate passed a bill supporting Hong Kong protesters. This led China to accuse the U.S. of interfering in domestic affairs.
President Donald Trump also said Tuesday he would impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods if Beijing does not make a deal on trade. "If we don't make a deal with China, I'll just raise the tariffs even higher," Trump said at a Cabinet meeting.
The major averages posted fresh intraday records on Tuesday. Stocks have been on a tear since Trump announced Oct. 11 that both sides had reached a partial trade deal to be signed sometime this month. Over the past month, the Dow and S&P 500 are up about 4% each while the Nasdaq has rallied more than 5%.
"This is a digestion period after the fantastic run that we've had since the start of this quarter, but I also think we're in a holding pattern with people waiting to see what the outcome is on these trade negotiations," said Larry Adam, CIO at Raymond James.
Traders were also keeping an eye on the impeachment proceedings in Washington as the uncertainty around them could hinder Trump's negotiating position with China.
"Even though the impeachment hearings haven't disrupted the market to this point, the fact that it's continuing to bubble under the surface is now having an impact on the trade situation," said Deming of KKM Financial. "With this thing adding to the uncertainty surrounding Trump and the administration, it wouldn't surprise me to see China take a step back and say 'we're going to see how this plays out before we make any potential trade deal.'"
In corporate news, Target shares jumped more than 14%, their biggest one-day gain since Aug. 21, after the retailer posted quarterly results that easily beat expectations. Target also raised its full-year profit outlook. Lowe's advanced 3.9% on stronger-than-forecast earnings and an improved profit forecast for fiscal 2019.
Elsewhere, investors digested the minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting in October. The minutes showed Fed officials see little need to cut rates any further. The U.S. central bank decided to lower the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 1.5% to 1.75% late last month.
—CNBC's Silvia Amaro contributed to this report.