US STOCKS-S&P edges higher in choppy session as stimulus talks drag on

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Stimulus in focus as Pelosi, Mnuchin are set to talk
* Netflix falls on slowing subscriber growth
* Snap rise on user growth boosting social media space
* Dow off 0.14%, S&P up 0.06%, Nasdaq up 0.07%

(Updates to early afternoon, adds commentary, NEW YORK
dateline, changes byline)
By Sinéad Carew
Oct 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 advanced slightly on
Wednesday in volatile trading as investors tracked Washington
negotiations for a fresh coronavirus stimulus package and
appeared skeptical a deal would be reached before the Nov. 3
U.S. elections.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were scheduled to talk at 230
PM EDT (1830 GMT) about details of a relief package that
Democrats want be in the range of $2.2 trillion. Pelosi, who over the weekend had set a Tuesday deadline for
an agreement, said she hoped to resolve the "appropriations
piece" of the aid bill Wednesday. However, Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell does not want to bring a large
coronavirus aid bill to the Senate floor before the election, a
senior Republican aide said. "The market's maybe finally realizing it's not happening or
if it does happen its going to happen after the election," said
Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in
Stamford, Connecticut.
But investors were taking that prospect in their stride as a
pre-election agreement has been in question for some time.
"We're not seeing a lot of panic or fear. Apathy is a good
description," said O'Rourke.
At 2:25 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 0.13 points, or 0%, to 28,308.92, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
5.71 points, or 0.17%, to 3,448.83 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 8.02 points, or 0.07%, to 11,524.51.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with Energy
.SPNY leading the percentage decliners.
Instead of plowing money into the market broadly, O' Rourke
said investors picked stocks as they looked at results coming
out of the third-quarter financial reporting season.
Of the major industry sectors communications services
.SPLRCL was the biggest gainer, up nearly 2%, after Snapchat
messaging app owner Snap Inc SNAP.N beat user growth and
revenue forecasts, as more people signed up to chat with friends
and family during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results boosted the shares of social media companies
Facebook Inc FB.O , up around 5%, and Twitter Inc TWTR.N , up
around 8%, helped lift the communications services sector along
with a 2.7% rise for Google-parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O .
Smaller social media firm Pinterest Inc PINS.N was up 8%.
Dampening the mood, Netflix Inc NFLX.O was down more than
6% after it kicked off earnings from the Big Tech 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.
After touching a one month high early, Wall Street's fear
gauge .VIX edged lower in afternoon trading.
Investors were also worried ahead of the elections.
Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger
Joe Biden will face off in their second and final debate on
Thursday night, with Biden leading the race, according to
national polls. Indexes changed little after the U.S. central bank's "Beige
Book" report, a snapshot of the economy gleaned from discussions
with business contacts, showed that employment increased in
almost all districts, though growth remained slow. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose 1.4% as investors
geared up for its quarterly report after the closing bell.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.42-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.38-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 28 new lows.