US STOCKS-Wall St pressured by J&J, Boeing; growth worries linger

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* J&J slides on move to recall a batch of baby powder
* Boeing falls as 737 MAX woes deepen
* China's GDP growth grinds to near three-decade low
* Coca-Cola rises on better-than-expected sales
* Indexes down: Dow 0.67%, S&P 500 0.43%, Nasdaq 0.97%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Oct 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street fell on Friday, dragged down
by Boeing and Johnson & Johnson and as worries over global
economic growth were rekindled by gloomy data out of China.
The world's second-largest economy expanded at its weakest
pace in almost 30 years in the third quarter amid a bitter trade
war with the United States, which has roiled financial markets
and fueled fears of a global recession.
"China data just adds to the continued slowing global growth
concept that has been out there for a while," said Chris
O'Keefe, managing director at Logan Capital Management in
Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
A 5% tumble in shares of Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N and a
3.8% fall in shares of Boeing Co BA.N pressured the blue-chip
Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI .
J&J said it would recall a single lot of its baby powder in
the United States after the Food and Drug Administration found
trace amounts of asbestos in samples taken from a bottle
purchased online. Reuters reported Boeing turned over instant messages from
2016 between two employees that suggest the airplane maker may
have misled the Federal Aviation Administration about a key
safety system on the grounded 737 MAX. The negative news overshadowed a handful of upbeat earnings
reports.
Coca-Cola Co KO.N shares gained 2.3% after the beverage
maker beat analysts' expectations for quarterly sales, while
Schlumberger SLB.N rose as its profit beat estimates.
"Coke is being innovative and Pepsi also had
stronger-than-expected earnings. Overall, these companies are
benefiting from the strength of the consumer," O'Keefe added.
The consumer staples sector .SPLRCS rose 0.4%.
American Express Co AXP.N posted a quarterly profit above
expectations but its shares slipped 1% after the credit-card
issuer reaffirmed its 2019 earnings forecast. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 181.73
points, or 0.67%, at 26,844.15, the S&P 500 .SPX was down
12.79 points, or 0.43%, at 2,985.16 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was down 79.13 points, or 0.97%, at 8,077.72.
The upbeat start to the earnings season has put the S&P 500
and Dow indexes on track for their second straight week of
gains, while the Nasdaq .IXIC was set to rise for the third
week in a row.
Of the 73 S&P 500 companies to report results so far, 83.6%
have topped earnings expectations.
Investors are now gearing up for earnings from technology
companies next week, including those from Microsoft Corp
MSFT.O and Intel Corp INTC.O . Technology firms make up the
largest swath of the U.S. stock market.
The tech sector .SPLRCT slipped 1.1%.
Analysts still expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings to have
fallen by 3.1%, according to Refinitiv data, the first
contraction since mid-2016.
Macy's M.N , Gap Inc GPS.N and L Brands LB.N led losses
among S&P 500 companies, with declines ranging between 3% and 7%
after Credit Suisse downgraded their shares and said weak
third-quarter retail trends could continue into fall and holiday
season.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.26-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.86-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 26 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 43 new highs and 45 new lows.