US STOCKS-Wall Street close to record highs after upbeat earnings, GDP data

* U.S. Q2 GDP growth slows to 2.1%, but tops estimates
* Twitter gains after Q2 revenue beat
* Amazon falls after quarterly profit miss
* Alphabet surges on upbeat Q2 results
* Indexes up: Dow 0.05%, S&P 0.48%, Nasdaq 0.84%

(Changes comment, updates prices)
By Amy Caren Daniel
July 26 (Reuters) - Robust earnings from Google-owner
Alphabet and Twitter took the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes close
to record levels on Friday, with data showing the domestic
economy slowed lesser than expected in the second quarter
providing support.
The Commerce Department said GDP increased at a 2.1%
annualized rate in the second quarter, higher than a 1.8% rate
that economists polled by Reuters forecast. "It's a little higher than expected, but on the heels of
news from a dovish ECB yesterday and mixed earnings reports,
this is another sign that growth is certainly cooler in Q2,"
said Mike Loewengart, vice-president of investment strategy at
E*Trade Financial in New York.
"It's important for marketwatchers to remember that it is
still meaningful growth and despite it being hotter than most
predicted it probably won't derail the Fed."
The data comes on the heels of European Central Bank
President Mario Draghi speech on Monday, which was less dovish
than investors had anticipated and led the S&P 500 to post its
first loss in the week.
Hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by at least 25
basis points at its policy meeting next week have powered a
solid run in stocks this month, helping Wall Street scale record
levels.
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O jumped 9.8% after its quarterly
results beat estimates, easing investor concerns about growth
challenges faced by its Google advertising business.
Twitter Inc TWTR.N rose 9.9% after it posted
better-than-expected second-quarter revenue and an uptick in
daily users who see advertisements on the site. Their upbeat earnings pushed the communication services
sector .SPLRCL up 2.65%, the most among S&P sectors.
At 10:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 13.20 points, or 0.05%, at 27,154.18, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 14.39 points, or 0.48%, at 3,018.06. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 68.95 points, or 0.84%, at 8,307.49.
Two weeks into the second-quarter earnings season, about 75%
of the 218 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have
topped profit estimates, according to Refinitiv data.
Among other stocks, McDonald's Corp MCD.N jumped as much
as 2.1% to a record high after beating quarterly sales
expectations at established U.S. restaurants.
Intel Corp INTC.O pared premarket gains to trade 0.6%
lower. The chipmaker gave an upbeat current-quarter forecast and
raised its full-year revenue guidance, allaying concerns about a
global chip slowdown and curbs on U.S. sales to China's Huawei
Technologies Co HWT.UL . Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O fell 2%,after the online retailer
reported its first profit miss in two years and said income
would slump in the current quarter.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.84-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.32-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 31 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 82 new highs and 52 new lows.