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

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Boeing ( BA ) dips on warning of wider-than-expected Q4 loss

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Verizon rises on upbeat Q4 subscriber additions

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American Express ( AXP ) falls after Q4 results

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US business activity at nine-month low in January

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Indexes off: Dow 0.12%, S&P 500 0.01%, Nasdaq 0.03%

(Updates to mid-session trading)

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Jan 24 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes struggled for direction on

Friday, as investors avoided big bets and assessed fresh data to

gauge the health of the economy, while Boeing ( BA ) dipped after

warning of a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss.

An

S&P Global survey

showed that business activity slowed to a ninth-month low

in January amid rising price pressures, but firms reported

higher hiring, supporting the Federal Reserve's cautious

approach to monetary policy this year.

Separately, the University of Michigan's final estimate

on consumer sentiment

dropped

to 71.1 from a previous estimate of 73.2.

The central bank is expected to meet next week and

traders see no change to borrowing costs. However, they now see

the Fed delivering its first rate cut in June, according to data

compiled by LSEG.

At 11:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 51.30 points, or 0.12%, to 44,513.77, the S&P 500

gained 0.78 points, or 0.01%, to 6,119.49 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 6.01 points, or 0.03%, to 20,048.04.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with utilities

leading with a 0.9% gain.

On the earnings front, American Express ( AXP )

reported a 12% jump

in fourth-quarter profit. Its shares, however, fell 3.1%

and weighed on the blue-chip Dow.

Boeing ( BA ) lost 0.3% after the planemaker warned of a

fourth-quarter loss of about $4 billion. Shares of the company,

which is scheduled to report quarterly results on Tuesday, had

logged their biggest annual drop since the pandemic in 2024.

Verizon rose 1.5% after the carrier reported

higher-than-expected

fourth-quarter subscriber additions.

Tariffs are high on investors' minds after President Donald

Trump referred to tariff policies multiple times at separate

events this week but did little to lay out entire details of the

surcharges he plans to impose on trade partners of the United

States.

The president has said tariffs on Mexico, Canada, China and

the European Union could be announced on Feb. 1, but analysts

say major plans could be announced on April 1.

Investors have negatively reacted to reports about potential

tariffs, on worries that they could spark a global trade war,

add to inflation pressures and slow the Fed's pace of interest

rate cuts.

"President Trump is using tariffs as a big stick. He likes

to use them as economic leverage and he's going to continue to

do that both with Canada, Mexico and with China to negotiate

better trade deals," said Kyle Wool, CEO of Dominari Securities.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed Thursday's session at a

record high for the second time in over a month after Trump

called for taxes, oil prices and interest rates to be lowered at

the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

On a weekly basis, Wall Street's main indexes are set for

their second straight week of advances, with the blue-chip Dow

on track for its biggest weekly jump since October 2022.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.96-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 43 new

lows.