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US STOCKS-Wall Street weighed by Boeing, J&J, bleak China data

Published 18/10/2019, 19:24
Updated 18/10/2019, 19:27
© Reuters.  US STOCKS-Wall Street weighed by Boeing, J&J, bleak China data

© Reuters. US STOCKS-Wall Street weighed by Boeing, J&J, bleak China data

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or

type LIVE/ in a news window.)

* J&J recalls baby powder because of asbestos find

* Boeing misled FAA on 737 MAX safety -Reuters

* China's GDP growth hits 30-year low

* Earnings beats: Amex, Coca-Cola, Kansas City Southern

* Indexes down: Dow 0.62%, S&P 500 0.25%, Nasdaq 0.73%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street fell on Friday as

negative headlines about Johnson & Johnson and Boeing and bleak

economic data from China soured investor risk appetite,

offsetting generally positive corporate earnings.

While the three major U.S. stock averages were in negative

territory, they were all on track to end the week higher.

Boeing Co BA.N and Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N shares led

the blue-chip Dow's decline.

Boeing dropped 4.8% after Reuters reported that text

messages between two employees suggested the planemaker misled

the Federal Aviation Administration about the safety of the

grounded 737 MAX aircraft. Johnson & Johnson announced it would recall baby powder in

the United States after regulators found trace amounts of

asbestos in a sample, sending its shares falling 5.6%.

Growth of China's gross domestic product slowed to its

weakest pace in nearly 30 years as the bruising trade war with

the United States took its toll, stoking fears of slowdown

contagion. The International Monetary Fund has lowered its forecast for

global growth this year to 3%, which would mark the slowest

expansion since the financial crisis. "Earnings have been coming in better than expected, but it

doesn't mesh with economic data that have been coming out

recently, and the global growth forecasts," said Robert Pavlik,

chief investment strategist, senior portfolio manager at

SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York. "That's keeping some

investors on the sideline."

Third-quarter earnings season has hit full stride, with 73

companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 83.6% have

come in above average estimates, according to Refinitiv data.

Still, analysts currently see S&P 500 earnings dropping by

3.1% compared with last year, which would mark the first

contraction since the earnings recession that ended mid-2016.

Schlumberger NV SLB.N gained 1.2% after the oilfield

services company posted its largest quarterly loss ever as a

result of a $12 billion charge as Chief Executive Olivier Le

Peuch moved to shift focus toward software and services.

American Express Co AXP.N reported better-than-expected

third-quarter profit as consumers boosted their spending. Still,

the credit card issuers shares dipped 1.0%. Coca-Cola Co's KO.N revenue topped Street estimates as

consumers took to zero-sugar sodas and smaller soft drink cans.

The beverage maker's upbeat forecast gave its shares a 2.1%

boost. Kansas City Southern KSU.N jumped 5.9% after beating

profit expectations on increased petroleum shipments to Mexico.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 166.44 points,

or 0.62%, to 26,859.44, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 7.53 points, or

0.25%, to 2,990.42 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped

59.67 points, or 0.73%, to 8,097.18.

Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, six were in the red,

with communications services .SPLRCL and tech .SPLRCT

suffering the biggest percentage declines.

Real estate .SPLRCR and financial .SPNY sectors were the

day's biggest percentage winners.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a

1.01-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.45-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 27 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the

Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 47 new lows.

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