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

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

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Indexes down: Dow 0.44%, S&P 500 0.23%, Nasdaq 0.28%

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) forecasts annual profit below expectations

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Whirlpool plunges after Q2 earnings miss, FY profit

outlook trim

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Fed's two-day meeting starts later in the day

(Updated with early afternoon prices, analyst comment)

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

July 29 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped from record highs on

Tuesday as a series of downbeat earnings weighed on the indexes,

while investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve's

policy meeting later in the day.

At 11:36 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 lost 14.45 points, or

0.23%, to 6,374.98, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 58.64

points, or 0.28%, to 21,119.59.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 198.93 points,

or 0.44%, to 44,638.52, about 460 points short of its record

peak.

Quarterly results from key Dow components UnitedHealth ( UNH )

and Boeing ( BA ) failed to impress investors. Health

insurer UnitedHealth ( UNH ) fell 5.1% after a disappointing profit

forecast, while Boeing ( BA ) lost 3.7% despite reporting a smaller

second-quarter loss.

UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) stock has lost nearly half its value from

the beginning of 2025. On the day, the healthcare index

lost 0.4%.

Meanwhile, United Parcel Service ( UPS ) became the

latest

victim

of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs as the

stock tumbled 9.3% after the company reported

lower-than-expected second-quarter profit.

Similarly, Whirlpool sank 10.8% after the home

appliances maker slashed its annual earnings forecast and

dividend, citing tariff-centric pressures.

The Dow Jones Transport Average dropped 2.1% to a

one-week low.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in July

increased

more than expected to 97.2. In June, U.S. job openings and

hiring had

decreased

, pointing to a further slowdown in labor market activity.

The week had started on firm footing after the U.S.-EU trade

deal that halved tariffs to 15% and boosted expectations of more

agreements ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline. Trump has also

floated a potential "world tariff" of 15% to 20% for

non-negotiating countries.

Key negotiations between the U.S. and China entered their

second day in Stockholm as the world's two leading economies aim

to resolve their trade conflict and possibly produce a 90-day

extension to the tariff truce brokered in May.

Meanwhile, India

prepared

for higher U.S. tariffs - potentially as high as 25% - on

some exports as it opts to hold the line on new trade

concessions ahead of Washington's deadline, according to two

Indian government sources.

The International Monetary Fund was

examining the details

of the trade agreements the United States has struck in

recent days to assess their economic impact.

Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT )

, Amazon ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL ) are scheduled later

this week and could potentially steer Wall Street in the

following days.

"For the Mag 7 names, it's going to be all about that

CapEx spend - that AI spend continuing to be pretty robust...

the market's going to take a lot of direction from that," said

Jack Janasiewicz, lead portfolio strategist at Natixis

Investment Managers.

The U.S. central bank is set to begin its two-day policy

meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave

rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze

policymakers' remarks to gauge the timing of future moves.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in

about a 61.6% chance of a rate cut in September.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.08-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.09-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and nine new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 56

new lows.