By Riva Gold and Amrith Ramkumar 
   -- Stocks stabilize following Tuesday drop 
 
   -- Treasury yields rise 
 
   -- Walgreens, 21st Century Fox among best performers 

U.S. stocks stabilized a day after trade tensions rattled markets around the world.

The S&P 500 ended a three-session streak of declines, buoyed by gains in shares of real-estate firms, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed at a fresh record.

Investors this week have been more seriously considering the chance that the world's two largest economies could embark on a growth-hindering trade war, but many still expect the two countries to ultimately dial down their plans and reach a compromise. Some investors have been encouraged that large companies continue to oppose protectionist trade policies that could hurt their global businesses.

Stocks, commodities and bond yields fell Tuesday after President Donald Trump called for his administration to identify $200 billion in Chinese goods for a fresh round of tariffs.

"Our base case is this gets walked back...but it's getting more serious now," said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Exencial Wealth Advisors. "The longer it goes on and the further we go down this path, the greater the chances are that this could actually stick."

The S&P 500 added 0.2%, with eight of its 11 sectors notching gains, while the Nasdaq rose 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 42 points, or 0.2%, at 24658 in a seventh straight session of losses -- its longest streak since March 2017.

Some investors aren't sure that trade tensions will escalate, and major indexes have tended to stabilize following initial drops as the trade fights have escalated.

Analysts were weighing news that Germany's leading auto makers have thrown their support behind the abolition of all import tariffs for cars between the European Union and the U.S. in an effort to find a peaceful solution to the brewing trade war.

Despite recent trade fears and anxiety about higher interest rates, some investors think steady earnings growth will boost stocks moving forward.

"I'm not too worried," said Chris Bertelsen, chief investment officer of Aviance Capital Management. "If it turns out to be the great trade wars of the 1930s, I will be wrong, but that's a position we're willing to take."

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield edged up to 2.928% from 2.893%. Yields rise as prices fall. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at the European Central Bank's annual policy conference Wednesday that sturdy U.S. economic growth has built a strong case for continuing to gradually lift interest rates.

Walgreens Boots Alliance was among the S&P 500's best performers, adding 5.3% following news that it would be added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing General Electric.

Shares of 21st Century Fox rose 7.4% after Fox and Walt Disney announced a new merger agreement, increasing the value of the deal and adding a cash component. Fox and Wall Street Journal owner News Corp share common ownership.

PayPal shares also climbed after the company agreed to acquire financial-technology company Hyperwallet Systems Inc. for about $400 million.

Among decliners, shares of Starbucks fell 9.1% after it said it would close 150 U.S. stores in its 2019 fiscal year, while Oracle dropped 7.4% after it warned currency conversions would weaken the company's quarterly performance.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.3% to snap a three-session losing streak, with bank shares among the best performers.

Earlier, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.2% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.8%, after both indexes tumbled on Tuesday.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com and Amrith Ramkumar at amrith.ramkumar@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 20, 2018 16:39 ET (20:39 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.