US STOCKS-Wall Street flat as tariff deadline nears

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* U.S., China planning for delay of Dec 15 tariff - WSJ
* Autozone up after profit beat
* Netflix drops after Needham downgrade
* Focus also on Fed decision on Wednesday
* Dow up 0.01%, S&P 500 down 0.01%, Nasdaq up 0.05%

(Updates to midafternoon)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main stock
indexes were little changed on Tuesday, hovering near record
highs, as investors awaited concrete news on whether U.S.
tariffs on Chinese imports would take effect on Dec. 15, a
potential turning point in the two countries' trade dispute that
has convulsed markets.
Stock futures got a boost in premarket trade when the Wall
Street Journal said U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators are
laying the groundwork for a delay in the tariffs.
A delay would be seen as important in order to pave the way
for an initial trade deal, optimism over which has helped fuel
the market's recent run to records.
“The markets are totally holding their breath right now,”
said Nela Richardson, investment strategist at Edward Jones.
"I don't think that the markets are going to be completely
comfortable until there is a line drawn in the sand that says no
new tariffs on the 15th," Richardson said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 3.84 points, or
0.01%, to 27,913.44, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.18 points, or
0.01%, to 3,135.78 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 4.42
points, or 0.05%, to 8,626.25.
The S&P 500 has climbed 25% so far in 2019, driven by the
U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts earlier this year and
some relief over corporate profits, along with improved investor
sentiment on trade.
The Fed is due to give its latest policy decision on
Wednesday, with the market expecting the central bank to hold
interest rates steady.
In another trade-related development, Canada, Mexico and the
United States agreed to an overhaul of their quarter-century-old
regional trade pact, but stocks largely shrugged off the news.
The agreement was "a foregone conclusion," Richardson said.
"What would have impacted the market is if it didn't happen."
Among S&P 500 sectors on Tuesday, technology .SPLRCT was
the biggest gainer, while real estate .SPLRCR and materials
.SPLRCM lagged the most.
In company news, shares in Autozone Inc AZO.N jumped 6.9%
after the auto parts retailer beat quarterly estimates for
profit. Boeing Co BA.N shares dipped 0.5% after the plane maker
said it delivered fewer than half as many planes in the first 11
months of 2019 as in the same period a year earlier.
Netflix Inc NFLX.O shares fell 3.3% after a Needham
analyst downgraded her rating on the stock and said competition
could lead to the loss of 4 million premium U.S. subscribers
next year. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.07-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.19-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 58 new lows.