US STOCKS-Wall Street dips as weak China data fuels slowdown fears

* China producer prices see biggest drop in 3 yrs
* Tech stocks weigh on S&P 500, Nasdaq
* Ford falls as Moody's downgrades bonds to junk
* China to buy U.S. agricultural goods ahead of trade talks
-SCMP
* Indexes off: Dow 0.13%, S&P 0.37%, Nasdaq 0.49%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Technology stocks led the Wall
Street into the red on Tuesday as recessionary fears, fueled by
declining producer prices from China, dampened investor risk
appetite.
A gain in industrials cushioned the blue-chip Dow's slide,
and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was on track for its third straight
decline.
"It looks like a move from growth to value but it's too
early to say if it's a shift or a trade," said Bucky Hellwig,
senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham,
Alabama."
China producer prices, or the prices factories get for the
goods they make, fell last month at their sharpest pace in three
years as the country grapples with its bruising trade war with
the United States. "The weakness coming out of China reflects a slowing economy
as a result of trade negotiations," Hellwig added.
Hellwig believes, however, that weakness could grease the
wheels in Sino-U.S. trade negotiations.
"The consensus is that time is on the side of China, but in
the short term, as they see their economy slow and as supply
chains shift, that puts pressure on them to get a deal done,"
said Hellwig.
Indeed, China is expected to buy more agricultural products
to position itself for a better trade deal, according to a
report from the South China Morning Post. The underwhelming data from China weighed on
tariff-sensitive technology stocks .SPLRCT , which were down
1.1%
Amid signs of a global economic slowdown, market
participants largely expect the U.S. Federal Reserve and the
European Central Bank to cut interest rates over the next two
weeks, and Germany's finance minister suggested the nation was
prepared for a big stimulus package if its economy tips into
recession. The news from Germany sent U.S. Treasury yields higher,
tracking German bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 36.11 points,
or 0.13%, to 26,799.4, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 11.06 points, or
0.37%, to 2,967.37 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
39.53 points, or 0.49%, to 8,047.90.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, seven were lower,
with real estate .SPLRCR and tech seeing the biggest
percentage drops.
Energy .SPNY was the biggest percentage gainer, boosted by
what appears to be the fifth consecutive daily increase in oil
prices LCOc1 .
Wendy's Co WEN.O dropped 9.6% after the fast food chain
projected a drop in full-year 2019 adjusted earnings.
Wendy's rival McDonald's Inc MCD.N announced it would buy
Silicon Valley start-up Apprente. Its stock dipped 3.4%
Ford Motor Co's F.N bond rating was downgraded to junk by
Moody's, sending the automaker's shares down 2.6%. Mallinckrodt Plc MNK.N , having been plagued by opioid
litigation uncertainties, announced it would sell BioVectra Inc
to private equity firm H.I.G. Capital for up to $250 million,
sending the drugmaker's shares surging 75.7% higher.
Francesca's Holdings Corp FRAN.O shot up 74.8% after the
specialty retailer posted better-than-expected second quarter
results. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.42-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, a 1.66-to-1 ratio favored
advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 35 new highs and 36 new lows.