US STOCKS-Wall St flat as trade optimism wanes, earnings in focus

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or type
LIVE/ in a news window)
* Mnuchin sees extra tariffs in Dec if deal not signed
* China seeking more talks before signing deal -Bloomberg
* Nike, 3M among top gainers on the Dow
* AECOM rises after deal to sell management services unit
* Indexes: Dow up 0.06%, S&P 500, Nasdaq down about 0.1%

(Updates market action)
By Arjun Panchadar and Sagarika Jaisinghani
Oct 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks paused on Monday after three
sessions of gains as a lack of clarity over the first phase of a
U.S.-China trade deal weighed on sentiment, while investors
geared up for the third-quarter earnings season.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes had ended Friday with
their first weekly gain in a month after Washington signaled the
two sides had taken a major step in easing the tit-for-tat
measures that have hammered global growth this year.
President Donald Trump, however, acknowledged that the
agreement could still collapse, while Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin said on Monday he had "every expectation" that if a
U.S.-China trade deal was not in place by Dec. 15, additional
tariffs would be imposed. "Investors are trying to wrap their head around this 'non
deal'," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at
SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
"If (the market) was really skeptical, it would be selling
off a lot harder. But it's not because there are some good
points to it - that they are still talking and potentially
reaching a deal."
Financial markets had a rocky start to the month on signs of
escalating trade tensions, slowing global economic growth and
rising geopolitical risks. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes are
off about 0.3% so far this month, reversing a gain of about 2%
for September.
Sectors considered stable during times of economic
uncertainties such as utilities .SPLRCU and consumer staples
.SPLRCS were the top decliners among the S&P sectors.
Investors will now keep a close watch on the earnings season
to gauge the impact of the trade conflict and a sluggish
domestic economy on corporate America.
The reporting season kicks off on Tuesday, with the big U.S.
banks expected to report a 1.2% decline in earnings due to
falling interest rates, a raft of unsuccessful stock market
floatation and trade tensions. Overall, analysts are forecasting a 3.2% decline in profit
for S&P 500 companies for the quarter from a year earlier, based
on IBES data from Refinitiv.
At 12:54 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 16.34 points, or 0.06%, at 26,832.93, boosted by shares in 3M
MMM.N and Nike Inc NKE.N .
The S&P 500 .SPX was down 2.63 points, or 0.09%, at
2,967.64 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 6.70 points,
or 0.08%, at 8,050.34.
Among individual stocks, Beyond Meat Inc BYND.O fell 4.4%
after Wells Fargo initiated coverage of the plant-based meat
maker with "market perform". Nike rose 1% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded
the stock to "neutral" from "underperform".
Shares of U.S. construction and engineering company AECOM
ACM.N rose 4.5% after it agreed to sell its management
services unit to private equity firms for about $2.4 billion.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.36-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.54-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and three new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 14 new highs and 90 new lows.