US STOCKS-S&P 500 eases from five-month high as labor market rebound slows

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* Twitter jumps as usage soars
* Microsoft falls as cloud unit revenue growth slows
* Tesla rises after posting fourth straight quarterly profit
* Indexes fall: Dow 0.38%, S&P 0.35%, Nasdaq 0.99%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 23 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 backed off a five-month peak
in a choppy trading on Thursday as investors held out for a new
coronavirus relief package, with latest data showing signs that
a recovery in the labor market was stalling.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits
rose last week for the first time in nearly four months against
the backdrop of a resurgence in U.S. coronavirus cases, which
has now infected more than 4 million people across the country.
"Because of the perception that there will continue to be
further commitment to the market, you're seeing a market that is
continuing forward despite a level of rationality from many
savvy experienced people who think this is stone cold crazy,"
said Eric Schiffer, chief executive officer of the private
equity firm, the Patriarch Organization.
"We are at an inflection point and given how the health
conditions may impact business - which was not considered to the
extent it is today - the market is on far shakier ground that
investors believe."
U.S. Senate Republicans plan to propose another round of
direct payments to Americans in the next coronavirus relief
bill, a senior aide said on Thursday, as the White House urged
Republican lawmakers to get a $1 trillion relief package out
quickly. Optimism about a potential vaccine, fiscal stimulus and
improving economic data has helped the benchmark S&P 500 recoup
most of its virus-induced losses and rise 1% this year. The
benchmark index is about 3% below its Feb. 19 record close.
Of the 75 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly
results, 77% of them have beaten dramatically lowered profit
estimates, according to IBES Refinitiv data.
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O fell 2.7%, weighing the most on the
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as its flagship cloud computing business
Azure reported quarterly sales growth of under 50% for the first
time ever. Tesla Inc TSLA.O posted a fourth consecutive quarterly
profit, clearing a hurdle that could lead to the electric
carmaker's inclusion in the S&P 500 index .SPX . However its
shares gave back early losses to fall 2.5%. Twitter Inc TWTR.N jumped 6.0% as it reported record
yearly growth in daily users. At 1:07 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 103.19 points, or 0.38%, at 26,902.65 and the S&P 500
.SPX was down 11.58 points, or 0.35%, at 3,264.44. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 106.11 points, or 0.99%, at
10,600.02.
American Airlines AAL.O and Southwest Airlines LUV.N
said they were rethinking the number of flights they had planned
to add to their schedules for August and September. However, shares of both the carriers rose as American joined
major carriers in expecting slowing cash burn rates over the
rest of the year.
The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR erased early losses
to advance 3.2%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.46-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 51 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 97 new highs and 12 new lows.