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* Trump says has not agreed to roll back tariffs
* Disney rises on revenue, profit beat
* Gap falls after surprise CEO exit
* Indexes: Dow falls 0.12%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq up 0.20%
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Arjun Panchadar and Agamoni Ghosh
Nov 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes stalled
on Friday after a record run, as U.S. President Donald Trump
contradicted reports that the United States and China would roll
back existing tariffs.
However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained on the back of a rise
in shares of Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O .
The benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow had closed at
all-time highs on Thursday after officials said both U.S. and
China had agreed to roll back tariffs on each others' goods in a
"phase one" trade deal if it is completed.
But Trump said on Friday he had not agreed to roll back the
tariffs, although Beijing would like him to do so. The news sent
all the three major U.S. stock indexes sharply lower, but later
recovered. "Let's not forget that in the past we have come so close to
a trade agreement and at the last minute there has been a
pullback," said Michael Geraghty, capital market strategist at
Cornerstone Capital Group in New York.
"The president is very set in his way and the Chinese have
their viewpoint too, so it seems it's going to take a bit longer
for the trade deal to be nailed down."
Four of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower,
with the energy sector shedding 0.97%, making it the biggest
decliner, as oil prices fell on Trump's comments before
steadying. O/R
Still, the S&P 500 was on track for its fifth straight week
of gains, while the Nasdaq was eyeing its sixth consecutive
weekly rise, partly propelled by a rosy third-quarter earnings
season.
Walt Disney Co DIS.N gained 3.3% as its popular theme
parks and a remake of "The Lion King" lifted earnings, and the
company also spent less than it had projected on its online
streaming service, Disney+. Of the 446 S&P 500 companies that have reported results so
far, nearly three quarters have beaten profit estimates,
according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The numbers, to some
extent, reflect significantly lowered analysts' forecasts.
At 1:03 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 33.83 points, or 0.12%, at 27,640.97, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 0.79 points, or 0.03%, at 3,085.97 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 16.93 points, or 0.20%, at 8,451.44.
Dragging on the Dow were losses in shares of industrials 3M
Co MMM.N and Boeing Co BA.N .
Among other stocks, Gap Inc GPS.N fell 7% after it said
Chief Executive Officer Art Peck would leave the company, a
surprise exit in the middle of a restructuring. The apparel
retailer also slashed its full-year earnings forecast.
Energy drinks maker Monster Beverage Corp MNST.O rose 3.6%
after posting a better-than-expected third-quarter profit and
announcing a $500 million share buyback plan. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.00-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 20 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 56 new highs and 67 new lows.