* Fed minutes open debate on putting pause on future hikes
* Investors eye U.S.-China trade meeting at G20 summit
* Twitter drops on report of Fox News boycott
* Abercombie & Fitch, Dollar Tree up after results
* Indexes up: Dow 0.41 pct, S&P 0.34 pct, Nasdaq 0.38 pct (Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street eked out gains Thursday, reversing the session's earlier losses after the U.S. Federal Reserve released minutes from its November meeting in which the central bank opened the debate on when to pause further interest rate hikes.
All three major U.S. indexes were up modestly.
The minutes showed almost all Fed members agreeing that another rate increase was "likely to be warranted fairly soon," but also ticked off a series of issues that had begun weighing on their view of the economy. Street was lifted a day earlier by comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, that many investors read as signaling the Fed's three-year tightening cycle is drawing to a close. minutes seem to be consistent with Powell's statement yesterday that while a December rate hike seems almost certainly on the cards a review of policy is warranted before additional rate hikes will occur next year," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) in Austin, Texas.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 103.51 points, or 0.41 percent, to 25,469.94, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 9.46 points, or 0.34 percent, to 2,753.25 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 27.87 points, or 0.38 percent, to 7,319.46.
The S&P 500 healthcare .SPXHC and energy .SPNY sectors led the benchmark index higher.
Gains were muted as investors eyed the upcoming G20 summit in Buenos Aires, where U.S. President Donald Trump was due to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Saturday to discuss trade tensions between the world's two largest economies.
Trump sent mixed signals on Thursday about a potential trade deal between the world's two largest economies. shares weighed the most on all three major U.S. stock indexes, with the S&P 500 technology sector .SPLRCT down 0.2 percent.
Interest rate-sensitive financials .SPNY edged down 0.2 percent, as U.S. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR continued to fall after Powell's remarks. large U.S. banks, shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) JPM.N , Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) C.N , Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) BAC.N , Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) GS.N and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) MS.N were down between 0.5 and 1.2 percent.
A slew of data hinted at a slowdown in U.S. economic growth. The core PCE price index dropped below the Fed's 2 percent target to 1.8 percent, its lowest reading since February. New claims for unemployment insurance rose to a six-month high, and pending sales of existing homes plunged unexpectedly, falling 2.6 percent. Inc TWTR.N dropped 4.2 percent after a Politico report that Fox News boycotted the social media network seemed to fuel worries over a wider backlash. Tree Inc DLTR.O rose 6.5 percent after the discount retailer said tariffs would have a minimal impact this year, its comments offsetting a same-store sales miss and a full-year forecast cut. of teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Finch Co ANF.N jumped 20.4 percent after forecasting better-than-expected holiday quarter sales. issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.28-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.06-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 36 new highs and 58 new lows.