US STOCKS-S&P 500 ticks higher as investors weigh stimulus against virus worries

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* Netflix falls as subscriber growth forecast disappoints
* BlackRock rises as fixed-income investing boosts profit
* Indexes mixed: Dow down 0.1%, S&P and Nasdaq up 0.1%

(Adds quote, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 17 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 edged higher in choppy
trading on Friday, as investors juggled between prospects of
more fiscal stimulus and fears of further business disruptions
due to another record-breaking rise in COVID-19 cases across the
country.
Netflix's shares NFLX.O fell 6.4% after it forecast
slower-than-expected subscriber growth during the third quarter.
The video streaming service's shares weighed the most on the
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq and also pulled the communication
services sector .SPLRCL down 0.9%.
The S&P 500 and the Dow are set to close the week higher as
optimism over an eventual coronavirus vaccine helped investors
look past a continuous surge in COVID-19 cases. The United
States saw 77,000 new infections on Thursday. "It's going to be fairly range bound until we get more
transparency into exactly how the coronavirus virus is going to
affect us long term," said David Trainer, chief executive
officer of investment research firm New Constructs in Nashville,
Tennessee.
"I don't see a lot of downside, but I do see a lot of
rotation away from the really expensive large-cap tech names,
into more reasonably valued individual security."
High-flying companies including Microsoft Corp MSFT.O ,
Apple Inc AAPL.O and Amazon.com AMZN.O which have powered
Wall Street's recovery since March slipped on Friday.
The utilities .SPLRCU and healthcare .SPXHC sectors rose
the most among the major S&P sectors.
At 11:33 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 37.90 points, or 0.14%, at 26,696.81, the S&P 500
.SPX was up 4.02 points, or 0.13%, at 3,219.59. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 13.79 points, or 0.13%, at 10,487.62.
BlackRock Inc BLK.N , the world's largest asset manager,
rose 3.1% after reporting a jump in quarterly profit as
investors poured money into its fixed-income funds and cash
management services. As the second-quarter earnings season gets underway,
investors are looking for clues on the path of recovery for
Corporate America. Unprecedented stimulus measures and improving
economic data have helped the S&P 500 rise to within 5% of its
February record high.
Investors are also hoping for more fiscal support, as a
program that offers additional unemployment benefits is set to
expire on July 31. The U.S. Congress will return to Washington
on Monday to battle over the next coronavirus aid bill.
"It's going to be very messy over the next couple of weeks,
as Republicans and Democrats go back and forth. I suspect
they're going to end up settling somewhere closer to maybe one
and a half to two trillion in fiscal stimulus," said David
Bahnsen, chief investment officer, the Bahnsen Group, based in
Newport Beach, California.
The S&P 500 and the Dow have risen so far this week after
promising data on a COVID-19 vaccine helped investors look past
a record-breaking increase in coronavirus cases in the United
States.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.36-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a
1.53-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 27 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 65 new highs and 6 new lows.