US STOCKS-S&P 500 flat on mixed earnings reports; Alphabet weighs on Nasdaq

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* Alphabet falls after missing quarterly profit estimates
* Merck, Pfizer gain on upbeat earnings
* Fed two-day policy meeting starts on Tuesday
* Dow and S&P flat, Nasdaq down 0.34%

(Updates to open)
By Arjun Panchadar
Oct 29 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hovered near its record high
on Tuesday, lifted by upbeat earnings from drugmakers Merck and
Pfizer, while a disappointing quarterly profit from
Google-parent Alphabet kept the Nasdaq firmly in the negative
territory.
The benchmark index hit its all-time high on Monday,
propelled by hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal and expectations
of another rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
Merck & Co Inc MRK.N rose 2.19% after its quarterly
earnings blew past analysts' expectations, while Pfizer Inc
PFE.N gained 3% as it raised its 2019 earnings forecast.
Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were higher, led by
the healthcare sector .SPXHC , which rose 0.66%.
Shares of Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , however, slipped 2.1% as
the web search leader's quarterly profit missed estimates due to
higher costs. Its shares drove a 0.81% fall in the communication
services sector .SPLRCL . Third-quarter earnings of S&P 500 companies have largely
been better than expected, with over 78% of the 204 that have
reported so far surpassing profit expectations, according to
Refinitiv data.
"It's a little bit of a retracement trade from yesterday's
move in the equity markets. Earnings continue to come somewhat
decent with regards to what the management is saying about
future earnings," said John Brady, senior vice president at R.J.
O'Brien & Associates in Chicago.
Other marquee names reporting this week include tech
heavyweights Apple Inc AAPL.O and Facebook Inc FB.O as well
as oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N and Chevron Corp CVX.N .
The office of the U.S. Trade Representative said late on
Monday it was studying whether to extend tariff suspensions on
$34 billion of Chinese goods set to expire on Dec. 28 this year.
"There is a little bit of a ray of sunshine poking through
some very dark clouds in the market with ... talks regarding the
U.S.-China trade continuing to be more positive than negative,
especially from those who are closely involved in it all," Brady
said.
All eyes will now be on the Fed meeting, where the central
bank is widely expected to deliver a quarter percentage point
interest rate cut for the third time this year amid fears of a
global economic slowdown.
At 10:14 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 0.24 points, or unchanged, at 27,090.48, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 0.84 points, or 0.03%, at 3,040.26 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 28.58 points, or 0.34%, at 8,297.41.
Beyond Meat Inc BYND.O dropped 18% as the vegan burger
maker said it would need to offer more store discounts amid
rising competition. Shares of GrubHub Inc GRUB.N plunged 40% after the online
food delivery company warned of slowing growth as customers
opted to choose from a growing pool of rival providers to get
better deals. General Motors Co GM.N gained 5.1% after its quarterly net
profit topped estimates but the carmaker slashed its earnings
forecast for 2019 as the 40-day U.S. labor strike by the United
Auto Workers union brought virtually all of its North American
operations to a standstill. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.13-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.33-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 16 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and 32 new lows.