US stocks flat as Boeing retreats

Wall Street stocks treaded water early Friday as Boeing shares took a hit after the company announced that it would take a $2.1 billion charge against second quarter earnings.

Investors were cautious after the Dow lost ground Thursday, ending a six-day streak of records amid a mix of earnings reports.

"Investors will do a lot of tape watching, aiming to see how leading sectors ... respond to Thursday's pullback and whether the modest uptick at the open ultimately invites renewed profit-taking efforts," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

About 45 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 18,502.47.

The broad-based S&P 500 was essentially flat at 2,165.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.1 percent to 5,079.25.

Shares of Boeing, a Dow component, were down 2.0 percent. The aircraft maker warned late Thursday that second-quarter earnings will be hit by $2.1 billion in unexpected after-tax costs, including another significant charge on its large Air Force tanker contract.

General Electric, another Dow component, lost 2.3 percent at disappointment over its level of industrial orders announced with second-quarter earnings.

American Airlines rose 2.8 percent as it reported operating expenses shrank due to a 25 percent drop in fuel expenses.

Oil-services giant Schlumberger slid 0.2 percent after reporting a second-quarter loss of $2.2 billion. However, chief executive Paal Kibsgaard said, "We now appear to have reached the bottom of the cycle" following the rout in oil prices.

Other companies to report quarterly earnings included Honeywell International, down 4.9 percent, PayPal Holdings, down 7.6 percent and Advanced Micro Devices, up 7.7 percent.

Twenty-First Century Fox shed 0.2 percent after longtime Fox News chief Roger Ailes resigned from the network under the cloud of a sexual harassment lawsuit. The company said he would be replaced by Rupert Murdoch.

Twitter fell 2.9 percent following a downgrade by Raymond James.