US STOCKS-Wall St treads water as earnings counter China data gloom; J&J falls

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* Coca-Cola rises on better-than-expected revenue
* J&J slips on move to recall a batch of baby powder
* Schlumberger gains on upbeat profit report
* China's GDP growth grinds to near three-decade low
* Dow off 0.10%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq down 0.08%

(Updates to open)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
Oct 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street struggled for direction on
Friday as upbeat earnings reports calmed nerves about the global
economy after China expanded at its weakest pace in almost 30
years, with Johnson & Johnson also weighing on the blue-chip Dow
index.
Investors are closely tracking the health of the world's
second-largest economy as the bitter trade war with the United
States fuels fears about a global recession.
While global equities fell on the third-quarter data, a raft
of robust earnings from Coca-Cola Co KO.N and Schlumberger NV
SLB.N lifted the mood.
Coca-Cola Co KO.N shares gained 1.7% after the beverage
maker beat analysts' expectations for quarterly sales.
The company was the top boost to the consumer staples sector
.SPLRCS , which rose 0.4%, the most among the 11 major S&P
sectors.
Credit card issuer American Express Co AXP.N and oilfield
services provider Schlumberger SLB.N reported
better-than-expected profits. While Schlumberger shares gained
3.3%, AmEx reversed early gains to trade down 1.6%.
"The move is a mix of a lot of things which aren't all that
negative or all that positive. It will be a quiet day, mainly
driven by some earnings reports," said Randy Frederick, vice
president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in
Austin, Texas.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N slipped 3.5% and pressured the Dow
Jones Industrial Average .DJI the most.
The healthcare conglomerate 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.
Still, the S&P 500 .SPX and Dow indexes were on pace to
post their second straight week of gains, while the Nasdaq
.IXIC was set to rise for the third week in a row, as the
earnings season kicked off on a strong note.
Analysts still expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings to have
fallen by 2.9%, according to Refinitiv data, the first
contraction since mid-2016.
"The pessimism around the onset of earnings season was too
strong but because of that, there is plenty of room for
companies to outperform," Frederick added.
At 9:59 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down
26.87 points, or 0.10%, at 26,999.01, while the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 0.06 points, or -0.00%, at 2,997.89. The Nasdaq
Composite was down 6.90 points, or 0.08%, at 8,149.96.
Department store stores and other apparel retailers took a
hit after Credit Suisse said weak third-quarter retail trends
could continue into fall and holiday season. The brokerage downgraded shares of Macy's M.N , Gap Inc
GPS.N and L Brands LB.N to "underperform", pushing their
shares down 3.5% and 7%. Nordstrom JWN.N , Kohl's Corp KSS.N
and Hanesbrands HBI.N also fell between 1% and 5%.
The retail index .SPXRT dipped 0.1%.
Shares of E*Trade Financial Corp ETFC.O rose 5.8% after
the online broker posted better-than-expected quarterly profit
and revenue.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.00-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.16-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 15 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and 15 new lows.