*

Indexes mixed: Dow up 0.72%, S&P 500 up 0.16%, Nasdaq down

0.03%

*

Coca-Cola's third-quarter results beat estimates, shares

rise

*

Aerospace stocks rise after Lockheed, Northrop, RTX

results

*

Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) jumps after initiating strategic

review

(Updates to afternoon)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow led

the way on Tuesday as a string of solid earnings lured stock

buyers to industrials and capital goods and away from tech

shares.

Weakness in growth and microchip stocks held tech-laden

Nasdaq nominally lower.

Third-quarter earnings season has shifted into overdrive,

with corporate giants such as General Motors ( GM ), GE Aerospace, 3M ( MMM )

and Coca-Cola posting generally upbeat results. But with major

U.S. stock indexes hovering near record highs and valuations

stretched, upbeat results alone could prove insufficient to

sustain investor risk appetite.

"I think what's moving stocks today is exclusively the

third quarter earnings, with many of the Dow components like 3M ( MMM )

and General Motors ( GM ) being the driving force," said Sam Stovall,

chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New York.

"That's really that's what Wall Street is focusing on right now

because until the government shutdown is concluded and we start

getting a good flow of economic data, I think investors are just

going to be focusing on the earnings."

General Motors ( GM ) lifted its forecast and tempered its

anticipated tariff hit. The automaker's shares jumped 15.4%.

Coca-Cola shares gained 4.1% after solid consumer

demand drove its better-than-expected results, while diversified

manufacturer 3M ( MMM ) advanced 6.2% after hiking its full-year

forecast, bolstered by its focus on higher margin products and

cost controls.

Aerospace and defense companies Lockheed Martin ( LMT ),

Northrop Grumman ( NOC ) and RTX all raised their

forecasts, benefiting from solid demand for war machinery.

The S&P 1500 Aerospace/Defense index advanced 1.8%.

So far, 78 of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported. Of

those, 87% have beaten Wall Street expectations. Analysts

currently foresee aggregate third-quarter S&P 500 earnings

growth of 9.2% year-on-year, more robust than their 8.8%

estimate as it stood on October 1, according to LSEG data.

High-profile results from Tesla, IBM ( IBM ), Procter &

Gamble ( PG ) and Intel ( INTC ) are also on tap this week.

Netflix ( NFLX ) was up 0.3% ahead of its results after the

bell.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 335.18 points, or

0.72%, to 47,043.68, the S&P 500 gained 10.91 points, or

0.16%, to 6,746.15 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 8.10

points, or 0.03%, to 22,982.45.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer

discretionary and industrials led the

gainers, while utilities were down most.

Warner Brothers Discovery announced it is considering an

outright sale, citing interest from several potential buyers, in

the latest media shakeup. The company's stock surged 9.6%.

The government shutdown, now in its third week, has left

investors, economists and policymakers in the dark in the

absence of official data, complicating the efforts of the

data-dependent Federal Reserve.

Even so, the central bank will implement two more 25-basis-point

reductions to its key policy rate by year-end, according to a

Reuters poll of economists, who remain divided regarding the

Fed's path forward in 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump also struck a positive tone on

trade, saying he expects to reach a "fair deal" with Chinese

President Xi Jinping, while downplaying tensions over Taiwan.

Markets will keep an eye on Trump's upcoming meeting with Xi

on the sidelines of next week's economic summit in South Korea.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.41-to-1 ratio on

the NYSE. There were 246 new highs and 36 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,274 stocks rose and 2,315 fell as declining

issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.02-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and no new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 49 new lows.