(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

*

Netflix ( NFLX ) projects continued growth through year-end

*

CVS falls after replacing CEO

*

American Express ( AXP ), SLB down following results

*

Indexes: Dow down 0.09%, S&P 500 up 0.27%, Nasdaq up 0.52%

(Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET/1605 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Purvi Agarwal

Oct 18 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained ground on

Friday, bolstered by technology stocks, while Netflix ( NFLX ) surged

after exceeding subscriber growth estimates.

Shares of Netflix ( NFLX ) jumped 10.2% to a record high

after the streaming giant topped Wall Street estimates for

subscriber additions and said it expected continued growth

through the end of the year.

The Dow was dragged lower by American Express ( AXP ),

which lost 3.6% after its quarterly revenue missed estimates.

Meanwhile, all the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks, which

have driven much of Wall Street's rally this year, rose.

Apple ( AAPL ) gained 1.2% after data showed a sharp

increase in new iPhone sales in China, while chip heavyweight

Nvidia ( NVDA ) added 0.6% after BofA Global Research hiked its

price target on the stock.

Netflix's ( NFLX ) gains lifted the Communication Services sector

1%, while Information Technology rose 0.4%

An upbeat start to the quarterly earnings season and

broadly positive economic data have put the three main indexes

on track to log their sixth straight week of gains.

However, stretched valuations - the S&P 500 is trading

at nearly 22 times forward earnings - along with high

expectations for corporate results and potential volatility

around November's U.S. presidential elections, could leave

stocks vulnerable to a pullback.

"We had good earnings out of Netflix ( NFLX ) this morning, some

good housing data and sentiment in general has been quite well,"

said Dustin Thackeray, chief investment officer, Crewe Advisors.

"Now is maybe a bit of a waiting game to see how things

shake out with (the upcoming U.S. election) and then the

subsequent Fed meeting a couple days later, to see if there is

any sort of a pause in the coming meetings through the remainder

of the year."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39.97

points, or 0.09%, to 43,199.96, the S&P 500 gained 15.92

points, or 0.27%, to 5,857.39, and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 95.02 points, or 0.52%, to 18,468.63.

The small-cap Russell 2000 was set to outperform

major indexes in the week with a 2% weekly gain, although it

edged down 0.1% on the day.

CVS Health ( CVS ) slumped 9.3% after it replaced CEO Karen

Lynch with company veteran David Joyner and withdrew its 2024

profit forecast. It was the biggest decliner on the benchmark

index.

SLB

fell 3.2% following results, while

Procter & Gamble ( PG )

rose 0.1%.

Meanwhile, U.S. listings of Chinese companies moved higher

after China's central bank launched funding schemes aimed at

boosting the equity market. Alibaba gained 1.7% and

JD.com rose 2.2%.

Expectations for the U.S. Federal Reserve to ease interest

rates by 25 basis points at its November meeting stood intact,

at about 90%, according to CME's FedWatch.

In economic data, single-family

housing starts

increased 2.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of

1.027 million units in September.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.41-to-1

ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.32-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 42 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 109 new highs and 27

new lows.