US STOCKS-Wall St edges lower as trade concerns weigh, big rate cut hopes fade

* 3M falls after RBC downgrade
* Banks turn higher as U.S. Treasury yields rise
* Gains in Facebook, Netflix help keep Nasdaq afloat
* Dow down 0.31%, S&P off 0.04%, Nasdaq up 0.23%

(Changes quote, adds details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh
July 9 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials were
on track to fall for the third straight session on Tuesday, as
investors worried over warnings of a hit to earnings from the
U.S.-China trade dispute and reined in hopes of a steep interest
rate cut this month.
In the latest indication of the trade war hurting
businesses, German chemicals giant BASF BASFn.DE forecast a
30% fall in its adjusted annual profit, triggering a near 1%
fall in shares of U.S. chemical companies .SPXCM . Adding to the downbeat mood, RBC Capital Markets downgraded
3M Co MMM.N to "sector perform", citing macro pressures from
China, auto and electronics sectors. The industrial
conglomerate's shares fell 2.4% and pulled down the S&P
industrial sector .SPLRCI 0.57%.
Boeing Co BA.N slipped 0.4% after reporting a 37% drop in
deliveries in the first half of 2019, hurt by the grounding of
its best-selling 737 MAX jets. "The negative (BASF) guidance is concerning in many ways for
investors. I don't think it is particularly surprising
considering the trade uncertainty that is lingering over the
market at the moment," said Mike Dowdall, investment strategist
for BMO Global Asset Management in Chicago.
Second-quarter earnings season is expected to start in
earnest next week and profits at S&P 500 companies are set to
dip 0.2% from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Stocks have retreated from their record closing highs since
a robust June jobs report on Friday tempered expectations of an
aggressive 50 basis point interest rate cut by the Federal
Reserve.
Focus this week will be on Fed chief Jerome Powell's remarks
at his two-day testimony before the Congress, starting
Wednesday. Also due on Wednesday is the central bank's June
policy meeting minutes.
On the trade front, White House economic adviser Larry
Kudlow said China was expected to move forward with agricultural
purchases from the United States as trade talks resumed between
the two countries after a two-month hiatus. "The bar on trade, similar to earnings, is very low at the
moment," said Dowdall. "As long as there is no further
escalation from here, that should be market neutral to
potentially market positive."
At 11:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 82.19 points, or 0.31%, at 26,723.95, and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 1.05 points, or 0.04%, at 2,974.90.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 18.48 points, or 0.23%,
at 8,116.87.
Gains in Amazon.com AMZN.O , Facebook Inc FB.O and
Netflix NFLX.O propped up the Nasdaq.
Netflix rose 1.8% after Cowen and Co said the video
streaming services provider would benefit from high viewership
for the recently released third series of its original show
"Stranger Things".
Interest-rate sensitive banks .SPXBK reversed course to
trade 0.59% higher as U.S. Treasury yields rose. US/
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.54-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.28-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 15 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 37 new lows.