* China producer prices notch biggest drop in 3 years
* Tech stocks weigh on S&P 500, Nasdaq
* Ford falls as Moody's downgrades bonds to junk
* Treasury yields hit four-week highs
* Dow up 0.28%, S&P up 0.03%, Nasdaq off 0.04%
(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments
to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended little
changed on Tuesday, with a rally in energy and industrial shares
countering a drop in the technology and real estate sectors as
investors favored value over growth.
Industrials pulled the blue-chip Dow slightly higher and led
the bellwether S&P 500's nominal advance, while the tech-heavy
Nasdaq posted its third straight decline.
"The shift towards value-oriented names has been going on,"
said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist, senior
portfolio manager at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York. "People
are looking for areas of the market that may make sense and
looking to get less risk in their portfolio."
China producer prices fell last month at their sharpest pace
in three years, hit by Beijing's trade war with Washington.
China is expected to buy more agricultural products to
position itself for a better trade deal, according to a report
from the South China Morning Post. The underwhelming data from China weighed on
tariff-sensitive technology stocks .SPLRCT , which fell 0.5%
Investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European
Central Bank to cut rates to bolster the global economy.
Germany's finance minister suggested the nation was prepared to
fight a possible recession with a stimulus package. "A lot of people are looking to the Fed and other central
banks to lower interest rates," said Pavlik. "But think about
it, if they're cutting rates it means their economies aren't
very good. It's a misguided logic."
The news from Germany, along with easing U.S.-China tensions
sent U.S. Treasury yields to four-week highs, tracking German
bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 73.92 points,
or 0.28%, to 26,909.43, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.96 points,
or 0.03%, to 2,979.39 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
3.28 points, or 0.04%, to 8,084.16.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, six ended the
session higher, with energy .SPNY and industrials seeing the
biggest percentage gains.
Interest rate-sensitive real estate stocks .SPLRCR were
the biggest percentage losers, dropping 1.4% .
Apple Inc AAPL.O edged up 1.2% after announcing the Nov. 1
launch date for its streaming service Apple TV+, and unveiled
its latest iPhone and Watch updates. Wendy's Co WEN.O dropped 10.2 after the fast food chain
projected a drop in full-year 2019 adjusted earnings.
Wendy's rival McDonald's Inc MCD.N announced it would buy
Silicon Valley start-up Apprente. Its stock dipped 3.5% and was
the biggest drag on the Dow.
Ford Motor Co's F.N shares fell 1.3% after Moody's
downgraded the automaker's bond rating to junk. Mallinckrodt Plc MNK.N , beset by opioid litigation
uncertainties, announced it would sell BioVectra Inc to private
equity firm H.I.G. Capital for up to $250 million, sending the
drugmaker's shares surging 84.8%.
Francesca's Holdings Corp FRAN.O shot up 101.6% after the
specialty retailer posted better-than-expected second quarter
results. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a
1.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.78-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and two new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 38 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 8.05 billion shares, compared
with the 6.86 billion average over the last 20 trading days.
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