US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow flat as Cisco losses offset Walmart gains

* Cisco falls on disappointing outlook
* Walmart gains after raising earnings forecast
* Weak data from China, Germany spark growth concerns
* Indexes: Dow flat, S&P up 0.07%, Nasdaq off 0.07%

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By Arjun Panchadar
Nov 14 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial
Average were unchanged on Thursday, but still hovered near
record levels as a dour forecast from Cisco offset gains in
Walmart after its strong outlook.
Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O fell 7.6% after the network gear
maker said current-quarter revenue would drop 3% to 5% amid
declining global spending on its routers and switches, some of
which are made in China. However, Walmart Inc WMT.N jumped 1.8% as the world's
biggest retailer raised its annual earnings outlook. Its results
pointed to strong domestic consumer demand, ahead of a crucial
retail sales report on Friday. Retail stocks .SPXRT rose 0.61% on Walmart's news.
Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with the
consumer discretionary sector .SPLRCD providing the biggest
boost. The tech index .SPLRCT was 0.20% lower, as Cisco shares
weighed.
The stock indexes had an uneventful open as weak data from
China and Germany rekindled worries of a global slowdown due to
a prolonged U.S.-China trade war. "The U.S. economy continues to do well and it does appear
the slow path may be coming to an end, but you are still growing
close to 2%, which is not excessively strong," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities
in New York.
"However, it's better than what we are seeing in other parts
of the world, like the eurozone in particular."
Hopes of a resolution to the trade dispute as well as an
upbeat corporate earnings season have spurred Wall Street to
record highs this month, but U.S. President Donald Trump
recently tempered expectations with the threat of more tariffs
if China failed to reach a deal.
China said on Thursday the two sides were holding "in-depth"
trade discussions, and cancelling tariffs was an important
condition to reaching a deal. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is speaking before the
House Budget Committee on Thursday. He made comments about a
"sustained expansion" ahead for the U.S. economy, which
supported stock markets in the previous session.
At 10:23 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 1.98 points, or 0.01%, at 27,785.57, the S&P 500 .SPX rose
2.08 points, or 0.07%, at 3,096.12 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was down 5.99 points, or 0.07%, at 8,476.11.
Viacom Inc VIAB.O gained 2.7% after the MTV-owner beat
quarterly profit estimates, helped by a rise in domestic
advertising revenue. Kraft Heinz Co KHC.O dropped 3.3% after a report that
Goldman Sachs had downgraded the food and beverage maker's stock
to "sell".
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.79-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 15 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 54 new lows.