Wall St little changed as earnings, GDP data disappoint

By Tanya Agrawal

REUTERS - Wall Street was little changed on Friday as investors paused after a recent rally following underwhelming corporate earnings and gross domestic product data.

U.S. economic growth slowed more than expected in the fourth quarter, with GDP rising at a 1.9 percent annual rate, below the 2.2 percent rise expected by economists and the 3.5 percent growth pace logged in the third quarter.

Chevron fell 2.2 percent to $113.98 after its quarterly profit fell short of analysts' expectations. The stock was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average indexes.

The Nasdaq was weighed down by Starbucks, whose shares dropped 3.6 percent to $56.34 after the world's biggest coffee seller trimmed its full-year revenue forecast.

"Earnings have really just been fine," said David Lyon, global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank in San Francisco.

"They haven't been too hot, nor have there been any concerns or cautionary flags raised. I think fine might not be enough in the near term and there is a growing concern that while the numbers have been good, the forward guidance have been just okay."

However, the Dow stayed above 20,000 for the third straight day, after breaching the milestone for the first time on Wednesday as the post-election rally reignited.

All three major indexes were also on track to post weekly gains.

Still, investors retreated to a wait-and-see mode as they sought more clarity on President Donald Trump's policies and the new administration's ability to clear legislature hurdles in its quest to reduce regulation and cut taxes.

"There's definitely a gap between expectations and reality. I think the new administration has probably until the summer time to show some forward momentum and progress on getting policy changed and implemented through Congress." said Lyon.

At 12:35 p.m. ET (1735 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average was down 8.74 points, or 0.04 percent, at 20,092.17.

The S&P 500 was down 2.47 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,294.21 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.91 points, or 0.02 percent, at 5,654.27.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index's 0.99 percent fall leading the decliners.

Microsoft rose 2.3 percent to $65.72, while Intel gained 1.4 percent to $38.09 after the two companies reported quarterly results above Wall Street expectations.

However, Google parent Alphabet was down 0.8 percent at $850.35 after it posted fourth-quarter profit below analysts' estimates.

American Airlines fell 5 percent to $47.10 after the No. 1 U.S. airline by passenger traffic reported a fall in profit.

Colgate-Palmolive fell 5.9 percent to $64.20 after the personal products maker's fourth-quarter revenue missed estimates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,768 to 1,047. On the Nasdaq, 1,628 issues fell and 1,075 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed 24 new 52-week highs and three new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 82 new highs and 23 new lows.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)