US STOCKS-S&P 500 knocked lower after earnings wave
* Dow industrials edge up into record territory
* Amazon, Exxon, Starbucks lower after posting results
* Tobacco stocks fall after FDA statement on nicotine
* Dow up 0.11 pct, S&P down 0.16 pct, Nasdaq down 0.07 pct (Updates to late afternoon)
By Lewis Krauskopf
July 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 slipped on Friday on negative reactions to earnings reports from high-profile names such as Amazon, Exxon and Starbucks and a drop in shares of tobacco companies.
The Dow industrials held slim gains and set an intraday record, buoyed by Chevron after the energy company's results.
Despite Friday's share reactions, results overall have come in better than expected for the second quarter and stocks are trading near record highs.
More than halfway through reporting season, S&P 500 companies are on track to have increased earnings by 10.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Investors were also digesting data showing the U.S. economy accelerated in the second quarter as consumers ramped up spending and businesses invested more on equipment.
“We have had a good earnings season. We have had pretty good economic results," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland.
"But I think that there’s a tendency after you have had too long a string of wins, to start looking for the problems in even the good data. And I get the sense that that is kind of what is going on in the market at this point.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.62 points, or 0.11 percent, to 21,820.17, the S&P 500 lost 4 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,471.42 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.69 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,377.49.
Amazon's shares fell 2.3 percent after the world's largest online retailer reported a jump in retail sales along with a profit slump.
Altria Group shares tumbled 10.2 percent. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it wants to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes and move smokers toward potentially less harmful e-cigarettes.
Altria, which makes the Marlboro brand cigarettes, was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and weighed heavily on the consumer staples sector, which was the worst-performing group.
U.S.-traded shares of British American Tobacco dropped 7.3 percent.
Exxon shares fell 1.9 percent after a rare earnings miss, while shares of rival oil major Chevron climbed 1.7 after its results.
Starbucks plunged 10.0 percent and Mattel dropped 8.4 after their respective reports.
Following the failure of Senate Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, investors were also weighing the impact on the rest of President Donald Trump's agenda, including tax cuts, that has supported the stock market.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.03-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.36-to-1 ratio favored decliners. (Additional reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Nick Zieminski)
