US STOCKS-Wall St flat as railroads slide after CSX signals trade impact

* Abbott climbs after FY profit raise
* CSX slides after profit miss, weighs on rivals
* Qualcomm up as DoJ asks to pause antitrust ruling
* Dow flat, S&P off 0.05%, Nasdaq 0.06% higher

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh
July 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks treaded water on Wednesday
as trade-related weakness hurt CSX Corp's profit, leading to a
decline in railroad stocks and offsetting gains in shares of
Abbott and Qualcomm.
Shares of CSX CSX.O recorded the steepest fall on the
benchmark index, sliding 8.3% after the company posted
lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its full-year
revenue forecast. Rivals Union Pacific Corp UNP.N slipped 5.3% and Kansas
City Southern KSU.N fell 4%. Both companies will report
results this week.
Losses in CSX also pushed the Dow Jones Transport Average
.DJT down 2.5% and the industrials .SPLRCI about 1%, the
most among six of the 11 S&P sectors that were in the red.
However, Abbott Laboratories ABT.N rose 4% after the
medical device maker topped quarterly profit estimates and
lifted its full-year adjusted earnings forecast. It was the
biggest boost to the S&P 500 index. Since a sharp fall in May, Wall Street's main indexes have
been trending higher to hit record highs on hopes of interest
rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
However, nervousness returned to markets on Tuesday after
U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to tax another $325
billion worth of Chinese goods.
"It's hard for this market to push up substantially without
some resolution on trade," Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane
Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey, said.
At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 0.30 points, or unchanged, at 27,335.93, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 1.52 points, or 0.05%, at 3,002.52. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 4.64 points, or 0.06%, at 8,227.43.
Meckler said markets rose quickly on signs of dovish Fed
policy, but investors may be inclined to pause with tensions on
trade giving them a reason to not to commit any fresh capital.
Profit for S&P 500 companies is expected to dip 0.1% in the
second quarter, the first drop in three years, according to
Refinitiv IBES data.
Bank of America Corp BAC.N rose 1.1% after reporting a
profit beat, but lowered its annual net interest income
guidance.
This follows similar warning signs from JPMorgan JPM.N ,
Citigroup C.N and Well Fargo WFC.N , which reported a dip in
margins and stoked fears of interest rate cuts pressuring
profit. Qualcomm Inc QCOM.O jumped 1.4% after the U.S. Justice
Department asked a federal appeals court to pause the
enforcement of a sweeping antitrust ruling against the mobile
chip supplier. Its gains, along with a strong quarterly profit from Dutch
chip equipment maker ASML ASML.AS ASML.O , helped the
Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOX rise 0.5%. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.49-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.30-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 18 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 29 new highs and 37 new lows.