(Reuters) - U.S. stocks looked set to snap a four-day rally on Thursday as disappointing holiday-season results from Macy's hammered retail stocks and no clear signs of a resolution emerged from U.S.-Chinese trade talks. Despite the S&P 500's 0.60 percent retreat, the benchmark index is holding near three-week highs and is 9.2 percent above the 20-month low it hit around Christmas, thanks to the recent rally that was driven by strong U.S. jobs data, easing fears of higher interest rates and rising hopes of a trade deal. The trade optimism dampened after China said the three days of talks had established a "foundation" to resolve differences, but gave virtually no details on key issues at stake such as forced technology transfers, intellectual property rights, tariff barriers and cyber attacks. The mood was further hit a 19 percent slump in shares of department store operator Macy's Inc after the retailer cut same-store sales forecast for the holiday quarter.

Source: New York Times January 10, 2019 13:49 UTC