US STOCKS-Wall St falls on GDP, consumer data, earnings

                                

                                
 * U.S. economy slowed more than expected in Q2
                                
 * Midwest business barometer jumps in July
                                
 * Indexes down: Dow 0.3 pct, S&P 0.3 pct, Nasdaq 0.4 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
                                
 (Updates with Chicago PMI, consumer sentiment data )
                                
 By Angela Moon
                                
 NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks fell on
Friday after weak economic growth figures for the second
quarter and disappointing earnings from Merck painted an
uncertain outlook for the rest of the year.
                                
 A jump in a barometer of U.S. Midwest business in July,
however, helped indexes cut some losses.
                                
 Drug maker Merck & Co <MRK.N> reported a profit that beat
the average analyst estimate, but its sales were less than Wall
Street's forecast. The stock fell 3.3 percent to $33.89. For
details, see [ID:nN30234313]
                                
 The Commerce Department's gross domestic product (GDP)
report, the first estimate of economic growth for the
April-June period, expanded at 2.4 percent annual rate, versus
analysts' forecast of 2.5 percent as a capital investment drive
by business saw imports increasing at their fastest pace since
the first quarter of 1984. STORY: [ID:nN29111411] TABLE:
[ID:nCLAUIE62O]
                                
 U.S. consumer sentiment plunged in July to its lowest level
since November 2009 on bleak prospects for jobs and income a
year since the economic recovery began, according to the
Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers.
                                
 Investors have been rattled by disappointing data recently,
and more are talking about the possibility of a double-dip
recession.
                                
 The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business
barometer, though, showed business activity in the Midwest grew
more than expected this month as businesses boosted employment
and orders. STORY: [ID:nN30265688] TABLE: [ID:nNLLTIE6AH]
                                
 "The market is kind of getting caught in a cross-fire here,
not really sure which of those numbers to lean on," said Peter
Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments
LLC in Lisle, Illinois.
                                
 "My guess is they will focus more on the PMI and confidence
numbers, because they are more near-term."
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 28.31
points, or 0.27 percent, at 10,438.85. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 3.75 points, or 0.34 percent, at
1,097.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 9.44
points, or 0.42 percent, at 2,242.25. Weak outlook from
technology companies weighed on the Nasdaq for a second day.
                                
 Chevron Corp <CVX.N>, the second-largest U.S. oil company,
reported a three-fold jump in quarterly profit, topping Wall
Street forecasts but its shares were down 0.4 percent at
$75.70. [ID:nN30102708]
                                
 (Editing by Padraic Cassidy)