* U.S. tariff on China tires unnerves investors
* Deutsche Telekom eyes Sprint Nextel bid-report
* Indexes off: S&P, Dow 0.4 pct, Nasdaq 0.3 pct
(Updates to midmorning)
NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street slipped on Monday as a decision by the United States to impose special duties on Chinese tires sparked concerns about a possible trade dispute.
The decision by U.S. President Barack Obama could open the door to a host of trade complaints against Chinese products, creating tensions as Western nations seek support from the world's third-largest economy at G20 meetings later this month.
In response, China's commerce ministry said Sunday it launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of U.S. chicken products and auto parts exporters. For details, see [ID:nSP459289]
"We've had a pretty good streak here of absolutely not one piece of negative news, and so this tire thing is probably the first," said Stephen Massocca, managing director, Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco.
"(The market) was kind of due for a dinging, a little on the overbought side here, so it's only natural for a pullback to take place."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 40.35 points, or 0.42 percent, to 9,565.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 4.04 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,038.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 5.86 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,075.04.
Investors are increasingly wary of stock valuations as the current rally has extended into a sixth month with the S&P 500 up 53 percent since the March 9 low.
On the merger-and-acquisition front, Sprint Nextel Corp
British confectioner Cadbury Plc
Kraft shares rose 0.2 percent to $26.13.
The U.S.-China row helped lift shares of U.S. tiremakers,
with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co
Obama will attempt to revive a stalled push for stricter
oversight of Wall Street Monday, using the anniversary of
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc's
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)