By Anna Isaac and Alexander Osipovich 

U.S. stocks swung between small gains and losses Wednesday after stumbling blocks emerged in trade talks with China.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1%. The S&P 500 added 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose less than 0.1%.

Optimism over a "phase one" trade deal between Washington and Beijing helped lifted stocks to record highs in recent trading sessions. Now, a key 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.

Investors are likely to be cautious without concrete signs of progress on trade, analysts said.

"The euphoria of an imminent trade deal has dissipated," said Mike Loewengart, vice president of investment strategy at E*Trade.

"Expectations should be tempered given the back-and-forth we've seen over the past year," he added.

Overseas markets were rattled as unrest gripped Hong Kong, including parts of the financial district. The Hang Seng fell 1.8%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.9%.

In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 dropped 0.3%.

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

Meanwhile, investors moved into havens. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.883%, from 1.909% Tuesday. Yields move in the opposite directions from prices. Gold futures climbed 0.8%.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in written testimony to Congress, said the U.S. central bank saw little need for another interest-rate cut, citing moderate economic growth, a strong jobs market and stable inflation. Three Fed rate reductions between July and October helped fuel the recent stocks rally.

Mr. Powell was set to testify before Congress's Joint Economic Committee starting late Wednesday morning, in comments that are likely to be closely scrutinized by investors.

New data showed U.S. 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.

In earnings news, shares of Energizer Holdings jumped 11% after the battery manufacturer's revenue growth came in better than expected.

Cloud-based data analytics company Datadog's shares rallied 18% 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 18% 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 0.7%.

Joanne Chiu contributed to this article.

Write to Anna Isaac at anna.isaac@wsj.com and Alexander Osipovich at alexander.osipovich@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 13, 2019 12:11 ET (17:11 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.