* Twitter plunges on grim outlook
* Chevron down as profit drops on weaker refining margins
* U.S. consumer spending rebounds in March
* Indexes down: Dow 0.42%, S&P 0.49%, Nasdaq 0.50%
(Updates prices to open)
By Shivani Kumaresan
April 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street's three main indexes fell
on Friday as investors hit pause after a barrage of strong
quarterly earnings and upbeat economic data put the benchmark
S&P 500 index on track for a third straight month of gains
following a record run.
The Nasdaq .IXIC is also positioned for six consecutive
months of gains, boosted by a rally in shares of big technology
companies following their impressive results this week. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average .DJI is set to end in the positive
territory for three months in a row.
"A lot of the earnings is already in, and so the market has
entered a fatigue environment and investors are now going to
assess the economic picture," said Peter Cardillo, chief market
economist at Spartan Capital in New York.
Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower,
with technology .SPLRCT and energy .SPNY leading declines.
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O rose 1.6% after posting record
profits and signaling that consumers would keep spending in a
growing U.S. economy and converts to online shopping are not
likely to leave. Twitter Inc TWTR.N plunged 13.0% as it offered tepid
revenue forecast for the second quarter, saying user growth
could slow as the boost seen during the coronavirus pandemic
fizzles.
Other high-flying stocks, including Facebook Inc FB.O ,
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Netflix Inc
NFLX.O , fell between 0.2% and 0.9%.
Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer spending rebounded in
March amid a surge in income as households received additional
COVID-19 pandemic relief money from the government. 9:44 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 143.96 points, or 0.42%, at 33,916.40, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 20.75 points, or 0.49%, at 4,190.72 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 70.11 points, or 0.50%, at 14,012.43.
Chevron Corp CVX.N shed 2.2% after its first-quarter
profit fell 29%, hit by weaker refining margins and production
losses. AbbVie Inc ABBV.N rose 0.2% after beating estimates for
quarterly revenue and profit and raised its 2021 earnings
forecast, helped by demand for its rheumatoid arthritis drug in
the United States.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.20-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 2.05-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 29 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 23 new highs and 18 new lows.