US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow edge higher on hopes of progress in stimulus talks

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Gilead up as remdesivir wins approval for treating COVID
in U.S.
* Intel slumps as quarterly margins fall
* American Express drops as profit falls short of estimates
* Indexes: Dow up 0.05%, S&P up 0.09%, Nasdaq dips 0.3%

(Updates to market open)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
Oct 23 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow rose on Friday,
with investors expecting progress in talks on the next
coronavirus aid bill as the Nov. 3 presidential election drew
closer.
The Nasdaq was weighed down by a 10% slump in chipmaker
Intel Corp INTC.O after it reported a drop in margins as
consumers bought cheaper laptops and pandemic-stricken
businesses and governments clamped down on data center spending.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said late on
Thursday that negotiations with lawmakers on a coronavirus
relief package, now totaling $1.9 trillion, have entered a new
phase.
"The stimulus talks are continuing so the market is happy
about that even though we probably won't get anything done
before the election," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at
Great Hill Capital LLC in New York.
Uncertainty over the timeline of the relief legislature has
been weighing on Wall Street's major indexes, which were set to
end a choppy week slightly lower.
Meanwhile, a record 47 million Americans cast ballots,
eclipsing total early voting from the 2016 election. President
Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden debated on Thursday
for the last time to persuade the few remaining undecided voters
12 days before their contest. Heading into the debate, Trump trailed former vice president
Biden in national polls, but the contest is much tighter in some
battleground states where the election will likely be decided.
At 09:50 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 13.81 points or 0.05% to 28,377.47 and the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 3.23 points or 0.09% to 3,456.72. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC lost 32.33 points or 0.28% to 11,473.68.
Third-quarter earnings season chugged along, with 84% of the
126 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far topping
quarterly profit estimates, according to Refinitiv data.
Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O jumped 4% as its antiviral drug
remdesivir became the first and only drug approved for treating
patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States.
The healthcare index .SPXHC added 1%, more than any other
S&P sector.
American Express Co AXP.N dropped 2% as it missed
third-quarter profit estimates after its customers spent less
during the COVID-19 fueled economic slowdown and it set aside
money for potential payment defaults. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 2.3-to-1 on the NYSE
and 1.3-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 24 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 42 new highs and seven new lows.