By Anna Isaac and Joanne Chiu

U.S. stocks followed global markets lower Wednesday after stumbling blocks emerged in trade talks with China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% in morning trading. The S&P 500 dropped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.3%.

Earlier, major indexes across Asia fell, and continuing political unrest in Hong Kong drove the Hang Seng down 1.8%. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%.

In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.4%.

A question hanging over trade talks is whether Washington will agree to remove existing tariffs on Chinese imports to secure an initial deal with Beijing, rather than just lifting the threat of further levies due Dec. 15.

"In the short term the market's been too optimistic. The best interpretation of the trade situation is that almost everything that can be tariffed has been tariffed," said Christopher Mahon, director of asset allocation research at Barings.

Meanwhile, havens picked up. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.869%, down from 1.909% Tuesday. Yields move in the opposite direction from prices. Gold futures climbed 0.7%.

New data showed consumer prices rose more than expected last month. The consumer-price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in October from the previous month, driven by higher energy costs, the Labor Department said. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.3% rise.

Later, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gives testimony to Congress's Joint Economic Committee. Lines of questioning for Mr. Powell might include the Fed's expected pause on interest-rate cuts and the overall health of the U.S. economy.

Shares of Energizer Holdings jumped 13% after the battery manufacturer's revenue growth came in better than expected.

Cloud-based data analytics company Datadog's shares rallied 17% after its earnings beat expectations, reporting results for its first quarter as a public company.

Meanwhile, SmileDirectClub, a teeth-straightening startup that was also reporting for the first time since its initial public offering, tumbled 17% after it said losses had widened in the latest quarter.

Technology giant Cisco Systems will report earnings later Wednesday.

In commodities, U.S crude oil futures gained 0.4%.

Stocks fell in Hong Kong as unrest gripped the city, including parts of the financial district, for a third straight weekday.

"The escalation of violence has caused some market jitters," said Daryl Liew, head of portfolio management at REYL Singapore.

Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com and Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2019 10:18 ET (15:18 GMT)

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