NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, as Wall Street digested a host of corporate performance results when the first week of the third-quarter earnings season is approaching to an end.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 29.91 points, or 0.11 percent, to 26,995.97. The S&P 500 decreased 0.33 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,997.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 4.56 points, or 0.06 percent, to 8,152.29.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded higher around market opening, with the health care sector up 0.76 percent, leading the winners.

Shares of Coca-Cola rose nearly 1.5 percent, after the beverage giant reported stronger-than-expected revenues in the third quarter (Q3). It also raised its revenue guidance for 2019.

So far, among the over 70 S&P 500 companies that released quarterly earnings, 81 percent registered results above market expectations, according to FactSet.

However, analysts expected the overall S&P 500 earnings for Q3 would shrink by 2.9 percent, according to financial data provider Refinitiv. Enditem

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