US STOCKS-Wall St flat as recovery hopes offset U.S. protests, China tensions

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* Target, Walmart shut stores as U.S. protests turn violent
* Coty rises after appointing Chairman Peter Harf as CEO
* Indexes: Dow and S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.32%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Devik Jain
June 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks struggled for direction on
Monday as investors weighed prospects of a post-pandemic
economic recovery against protests across the country over race
and an ongoing standoff between Washington and Beijing.
U.S. manufacturing activity eased off an 11-year low in May,
an Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey showed, the
strongest sign yet that the worst of the economic downturn was
behind as businesses reopen. The S&P 500's .SPX 38% rebound since late March has been
underpinned by hopes that the global economy would recover from
the coronavirus-led downturn as countries start to ease
lockdowns.
"The data is showing a pickup in demand which is a key
driver for markets going forward," said Anik Sen, global head of
equities, PineBridge Investments.
"The market is reacting somewhat to the rioting and U.S. and
China tensions, but it's only at the margin."
National Guard troops were deployed over the weekend in 15
states and Washington, D.C. in an attempt to quell a sixth night
of violence that began with peaceful protests over the death of
a black man, George Floyd, in police custody. Target Corp TGT.N and Walmart Inc WMT.N closed stores
during the unrest that included looting in many cities. Target
shares fell 2.1% while Walmart was marginally
higher. Further denting the sentiment, reports said China had told
state-owned firms to halt agricultural purchases from the United
States after Washington said it would eliminate special
treatment for Hong Kong to punish Beijing. At 11:33 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 8.31 points, or 0.03%, at 25,391.42, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 1.61 points, or 0.05%, at 3,045.92. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 29.94 points, or 0.32%, at 9,519.82.
Real estate .SPLRCR and financials .SPSY led eight of
the 11 major S&P sectors higher.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N fell 8.5% after the drugmaker said the
late-stage trial of its breast cancer drug Ibrance was unlikely
to meet the main goal of study.
Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O fell 4.3% after its antiviral
drug remdesivir had mixed results in a late stage study of
people with moderate COVID-19, as patients given a five-day
course of the treatment showed statistically significant
improvement, while those given it for 10-days did not.
Coty Inc COTY.N jumped 20% after the cosmetics company
appointed Chairman Peter Harf as its new chief executive
officer. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.93-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.87-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 65 new highs and eight new lows.