US STOCKS-Wall Street dips as focus shifts to Fed

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* Fed policy decision due at 2 p.m. ET
* GE gains on quarterly profit beat, cash flow forecast
* Mattel surges on surprise jump in quarterly revenue
* U.S. GDP growth slows less than expected in Q3
* Indexes down: Dow 0.04%, S&P 0.09%, Nasdaq 0.12%

(Updates to open)
By Arjun Panchadar
Oct 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street struggled for direction on
Wednesday as investors geared up for a policy decision by the
Federal Reserve later in the day.
The central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates
for the third time this year to counter any fallout from a
protracted U.S.-China trade war on the domestic economy.
After a modestly higher open, U.S. stocks slipped into the
red. The interest rate sensitive banking sub-sector .SPXBK
shed 0.6%. Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with
losses in the financial sector .SPSY weighing the most.
The Fed decision is due at 2 p.m. ET followed by a press
conference from Chair Jerome Powell.
Traders have fully priced in a quarter percentage point rate
cut, up from a nearly 40% chance a month earlier. Hopes of a
rate cut and optimism around trade talks had pushed the
benchmark S&P 500 to record highs in the last two sessions.
"Certainly a rate cut is widely factored in," said Scott
Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg,
Florida. "Most people are looking for some sort of a hint that
this will likely be it for a while."
A Commerce Department report showed U.S. economic growth
slowed less than expected in the third quarter as declining
business investment was offset by resilient consumer spending
and a rebound in exports, further allaying financial market
fears of a recession. Nearly half of the S&P 500 companies have posted quarterly
results so far, of which 77.1% have beaten profit estimates.
Still, analysts are expecting a 1.9% drop in third-quarter
earnings, according to Refinitiv data.
General Electric Co GE.N jumped 10% after the industrial
conglomerate beat quarterly profit estimates and raised its cash
forecast for the year. Yum Brands Inc YUM.N slid 9.8% after it missed quarterly
profit expectations, hit by a write down in the value of its
investment in delivery company GrubHub GRUB.N and unrelenting
troubles at its Pizza Hut chain. Shares of tech heavyweights Apple Inc AAPL.O and Facebook
Inc FB.O also fell marginally ahead of their earnings reports
after markets close.
At 9:59 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 11.51 points, or 0.04%, at 27,059.91, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 2.84 points, or 0.09%, at 3,034.05 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 9.97 points, or 0.12%, at 8,266.88.
Among other stocks, Mattel Inc MAT.O surged nearly 17%
after the U.S. toymaker reported a surprise jump in quarterly
revenue on higher demand for newer models of its flagship Barbie
brand and dolls based on Korean pop-sensation BTS. Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rose 2.5% as the company said 15
new tests found no asbestos in a bottle of baby powder that the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration says tested positive for trace
amounts of asbestos. FDA said it stands by its finding.
Health insurer Centene Corp CNC.N gained 6.4% after
WellCare Health Plans WCG.N , which it is buying, posted third
quarter earnings well ahead of Wall Street targets. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.61-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.75-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and 34 new lows.