US STOCKS-S&P edges down in choppy session as U.S. stimulus talks drag on

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(Updates to early afternoon, adds commentary, NEW YORK
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By Sinéad Carew
Oct 21 (Reuters) - The S&P closed slightly lower on
Wednesday after a volatile trading session as investors worried
whether difficult negotiations in Washington would produce a
deal for a fresh U.S. coronavirus stimulus package.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said that while
there are a number of differences between the White House and
Congressional Democrats, Republican President Donald Trump was
"willing to lean into" working on an agreement. Before starting afternoon talks with Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said there was
still a chance for a deal despite resistance from Senate
Republicans, though she acknowledged it might not pass until
after the election. "As long as she keeps dangling the carrot out there that
there's still a chance that something could get done investors
continue to remain optimistic," said Michael James, managing
director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.
"You would rather have more long exposure than have too much
cash if an agreement is reached. That's a big if."
James said investors were holding out hope a deal could be
reached on Thursday. "Everybody's going to be sitting on pins
and needles waiting for the next headline between now and the
end of tomorrow's trading day."
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
98.76 points, or 0.35%, to 28,210.03, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
7.77 points, or 0.23%, to 3,435.35 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 31.80 points, or 0.28%, to 11,484.69.
Instead of plowing money into the market broadly, Michael
O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford,
Connecticut said investors picked stocks as they looked at
third-quarter financial results.
Of the major industry sectors communications services
.SPLRCL was the biggest gainer for much of the session.
Shares surged in Snapchat messaging app owner Snap Inc
SNAP.N after it beat user growth and revenue forecasts, as
more people signed up to chat with friends and family during the
COVID-19 pandemic. The news helped boost the shares of other social media
companies Facebook Inc FB.O and Twitter Inc TWTR.N and
helped lift the communications services sector. Smaller social
media firm Pinterest Inc PINS.N also soared.
Dampening the mood however was Netflix Inc NFLX.O , which
took a big tumble after it kicked off earnings for the market's
high-flyers club. The video streaming service missed
expectations for subscriber growth as competition increased and
live sports returned to television. Of the 84 S&P 500 firms that have reported third-quarter
results, 85.7% have topped expectations for earnings, according
to IBES Refinitiv data.
Investors also have their eyes on the upcoming elections.
Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will face off in their
second and final debate on Thursday night. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O was due to report
quarterly results after the closing bell.