US STOCKS-Wall St falls as weak economic data triggers growth worries

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fall in April
* Perrigo drops as Jefferies cuts PT
* Agilent declines after quarterly results disappoint
* Indexes down: Dow 0.58%, S&P 0.39%, Nasdaq 0.23%

(Updates to open)
By Amy Caren Daniel
May 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, as a
clutch of weak economic data from the United States and China
sparked worries of slowing global growth against the backdrop of
a bitter trade dispute that has roiled financial markets.
Domestic data showed retail sales unexpectedly fell in April
as households cut back on purchases of motor vehicles and a
range of other goods, and another report showed declining output
of cars and machinery led to a surprise fall in U.S. factory
production for April. Meanwhile data from China also showed surprisingly weak
growth in retail sales and industrial output for April, adding
pressure on the country to roll out more stimulus.
"It all feeds into the picture of a slowing global economy,"
said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
"The slow patch in one place is consistent with a slow patch
everywhere else. We aren't looking at recessionary numbers, but
it is a yellow flag."
The weak data hit U.S. treasury yields, and the interest
rate sensitive banking stocks .SPXBK fell 1.3%. The broader
financial sector .SPSY dropped 0.9%, the most among the major
11 S&P sectors.
Concerns that the trade dispute could be protracted and may
impact the global economy have kept investors on the edge over
the past couple of days, with the benchmark S&P index now 4.6%
below its all-time high reached two weeks ago.
However, markets took a breather on Tuesday after U.S.
President Donald Trump downplayed the trade war with Beijing and
said he would talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20
Summit in Japan late next month. Trump's optimistic comments followed a market rout on
Monday, when the S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow .DJI recorded one
of Wall Street's worst declines this year as the two sides
imposed tit-for-tat tariffs.
Tariff sensitive Boeing Co BA.N declined 1.5%, while
Caterpillar Inc CAT.N dipped 1.4%.
Macy's Inc M.N reversed premarket gains to trade 0.5%
lower after the department store operator said the recent hike
in U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will hurt its furniture
business. L4N22R44E
At 9:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 149.16 points, or 0.58%, at 25,382.89. The S&P 500 .SPX
was down 11.19 points, or 0.39%, at 2,823.22 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 18.11 points, or 0.23%, at 7,716.38.
Agilent Technologies Inc's A.N shares fell 8.5%, the most
on the S&P 500, after the medical equipment maker reported
quarterly results below estimates. Perrigo Company Plc PRGO.N dropped 3.1% as Jefferies
lowered its price target on the generic drugmaker after the
company's recent move to divest its higher margin generic pet
care business.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.47-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.99-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and eight new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 13 new highs and 36 new lows.