US STOCKS-Wall Street slips as investors wait for stimulus deal

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* Netflix falls on slowing subscriber growth
* Snap Inc surges on jump in user growth
* Abbott rises after profit forecast bump
* Indexes down: Dow 0.3%, S&P 0.2%, Nasdaq 0.3%

(Adds comment, details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh
Oct 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes dipped in
choppy trading on Wednesday as investors waited for progress in
ongoing negotiations related to the coronavirus stimulus
package.
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said it was a
"sunny, optimistic morning" in terms of negotiations on a relief
bill with House of Representatives' Democratic leaders.
Talks between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will continue on
Wednesday. The Trump administration has proposed $1.8 trillion
in aid, while Democrats are pushing for $2.2
trillion. The major U.S. stock indexes have traded in a tight range
over the past week as investors track progress over stimulus
talks.
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX touched a one-month high
earlier on Wednesday as the U.S. election campaign enters its
final stretch.
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden
will face off in their second and final debate on Thursday night
where Trump will attempt to change the trajectory of a race that
Biden is leading, according to national polls. "Markets have rallied assuming a Democratic sweep. They
think a large stimulus program could be put in place by the
Biden administration," said Bill McMahon, chief investment
officer of Active Equity Strategies at Charles Schwab Investment
Management.
At 11:19 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 81.54 points, or 0.29%, at 28,227.25, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 7.69 points, or 0.22%, at 3,435.43, and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 31.46 points, or 0.27%, at
11,485.04.
Snap Inc SNAP.N surged 34.1% after the Snapchat messaging
app owner 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 and Twitter Inc TWTR.N , which were up 4.6%
and 6.6%, while image sharing company Pinterest Inc PINS.N
gained 10.3%.
Gains in Facebook and a 2.8% rise for Google-parent Alphabet
Inc GOOGL.O lifted the communication services sector .SPLRCL
by 1.5%.
Netflix Inc NFLX.O kicked off earnings from the Big Tech
club, and was down 6.4% after it missed expectations for
subscriber growth as streaming competition increased and live
sports returned to television. Of the 66 S&P 500 firms that have reported third-quarter
results, 86.4% have topped expectations for earnings, according
to IBES Refinitiv data.
The U.S. central bank's "Beige Book" report, a snapshot of
the economy gleaned from discussions with business contacts, is
scheduled to be released at 2 p.m. ET (1800 GMT).
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.65-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.67-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 19 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 43 new highs and 19 new lows.