Wall St Slips as Earnings, GDP Data Disappoint

Wall Street was slightly lower on Friday, weighed down by 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.

Chevron fell 2 percent to $114.21 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.

Starbucks dropped 4 percent to $56.12 after the world's biggest coffee seller trimmed its full-year revenue forecast. The stock weighed the most on the Nasdaq.

"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, helped by the reignition of the post-election rally earlier this week.

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 10:55 a.m. ET (1555 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 18.56 points, or 0.09 percent, at 20,082.35.

The S&P 500 was down 3.39 points, or 0.14 percent, at 2,293.29.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.63 points, or 0.03 percent, at 5,653.55.

Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the energy index's 0.77 percent fall leading the decliners.

Microsoft rose 2.1 percent to $65.59, while Intel gained 1.8 percent to $38.24 after the two companies reported quarterly results above Wall Street expectations.

However, Google parent Alphabet was down 0.4 percent at $853.40 after it posted fourth-quarter profit below analysts' estimates.

Colgate-Palmolive fell 6.8 percent to $63.59 after the personal products maker's fourth-quarter revenue missed estimates.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,691 to 1,062. On the Nasdaq, 1,476 issues fell and 1,090 advanced.

The S&P 500 index showed 18 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 73 new highs and 20 new lows. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)