U.S. stocks tumble down over abrupt ended argument during U.S.-China summit

U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday as a U.S.-North Korea summit ended abruptly without an agreement, with a clutch of weak earnings adding to the downbeat sentiment. President Donald Trump said he had walked away from a nuclear deal at his summit with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam because of unacceptable demands from the North Korean leader to lift U.S.-led sanctions.

"After the lack of results from the North Korean summit, there could be some nervousness about the possibility of similar results coming out of China tariff negotiations," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "But the biggest factor is that we've had a sharp rise since the Christmas Eve lows. A lot of people are just nervous that we've come too far too fast."

The S&P 500 index is set to record its third straight day of losses, after being boosted in the recent weeks by optimism around trade and dovish signals from the Federal Reserve. The benchmark index is about 5 per cent away from its September record closing high. Bleak earnings reports added to the gloom, with HP Inc sinking 16 per cent, weighing the most on the technology sector, down 0.25 per cent. The company's revenue fell short of analysts' estimates.

Booking Holdings Inc fell 8.78 per cent after the company missed quarterly earnings expectations and was among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. At 11:31 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 21.16 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 25,964.00. The S&P 500 was down 2.81 points, or 0.10 per cent, at 2,789.57 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 11.89 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 7,542.62.

Of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, seven were lower. The energy sector was the biggest loser, with a 1.05 per cent fall, as crude prices eased. Offering investors some comfort was data that showed the U.S. economy slowed less than expected in the fourth quarter amid solid consumer and business spending.

This comes ahead of the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data for December, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, due on Friday. Among other stocks, Celgene Corp fell 8.24 per cent after activist investor Starboard Value LP said it will vote against drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's $74 billion acquisition of the biotech. Bristol-Myers was up marginally.

Monster Beverage Corp jumped 9.75 per cent, the most on the S&P after the beverage maker beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue and profit. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.42-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 28 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 23 new lows.