US STOCKS-Wall Street falls as Netflix adds to earnings jitters

* Netflix tumbles as U.S. subscribers drop
* Union Pacific, Phillip Morris jump after results
* Morgan Stanley beats profit estimates
* UnitedHealth drops on revenue warning
* Indexes down: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.47%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Uday Sampath Kumar
July 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set for
their third day of losses on Thursday, as Netflix reported a
surprise fall in U.S. subscribers in a downbeat start to results
from high-growth companies.
Shares of the streaming pioneer NFLX.O tumbled 11.1% to
their lowest since late-January at $321.84, as the company also
missed targets for new subscribers overseas at a time when it
has staked its future on global expansion. Losses in Netflix triggered a 1.58% fall in the
communication services .SPLRCL sector, one of the
best-performing S&P sectors so far this year.
Technology giant Microsoft Corp MSFT.O slipped 0.8% ahead
of its results after markets close.
"The stock market seems to be running out of energy," said
John Augustine, chief investment officer of Huntington Private
Bank in Columbus, Ohio.
"Earnings have met expectations but companies are being
cautious about future quarters, which is something that's not
able to keep the S&P 500 above the 3,000 level."
As second-quarter earnings rolled in this week, the three
main Wall Street indexes retreated slightly from record highs
and are set for their steepest weekly fall in seven weeks.
Investors are looking for concrete developments in trade
talks between the United States and China, while they await the
Federal Reserve's policy meeting at the end of July where the
central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said U.S. and Chinese
officials will hold a telephone call later on Thursday that
could pave the way for further in-person trade talks.
At 12:08 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 105.12 points, or 0.39%, at 27,114.73 and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 6.64 points, or 0.22%, at 2,977.78. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 38.16 points, or 0.47%, at 8,147.04.
Among positive earnings reports, tobacco company Philip
Morris PM.N climbed 8.3% after raising its full-year profit
outlook, while railroad operator Union Pacific Corp UNP.N
jumped 4.2% after reporting a profit beat. International Business Machines Corp IBM.N rose 3.8% as
its quarterly profit beat on strong growth in its high-margin
cloud business. Morgan Stanley MS.N rose 0.7% after posting a
better-than-expected quarterly profit and wrapped up earnings
from big U.S. banks. The bank-subsector .SPXBK was up 0.73%
after three days of losses. Profits for S&P 500 companies is expected to rise 0.6% this
year, according to Refinitiv IBES data. Until Wednesday, there
were expectations of a dip in earnings.
UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N slipped 2.5% as the insurer
said 2019 revenue would not hit its original target on the
conference call. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.40-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 20 new 52-week highs and four new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and 74 new lows.