The S&P 500 slipped on Friday on negative reactions to earnings reports from high-profile names such as Amazon, Exxon and Starbucks and a drop in shares of tobacco companies.
The Dow industrials, however, set a record high, buoyed by Chevron after the energy company's results.
More than halfway through reporting season, S&P 500 companies are on track to increase earnings by 10.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 33.76 points, or 0.15 percent, to 21,830.31, the S&P 500 lost 3.32 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,472.1 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 7.51 points, or 0.12 percent, to 6,374.68.
Investors have been counting on earnings to support the relatively high valuations for equities. The S&P 500 is trading at about 18 times earnings estimates for the next 12 months above its long-term average of 15 times.
Amazon's shares fell 2.5 percent after the world's largest online retailer reported a jump in retail sales along with a profit slump.
Altria Group shares tumbled 9.5 percent. The US Food and Drug Administration announced it wants to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes and move smokers toward potentially less harmful e-cigarettes.
Altria, which makes Marlboro brand cigarettes, was the biggest drag on the S&P 500 and weighed heavily on the consumer staples sector , which was the worst-performing group.
US-traded shares of British American Tobacco dropped 7.0 percent.
Exxon shares fell 1.5 percent after a rare earnings miss, while shares of rival oil major Chevron climbed 1.9 percent after its results.
Starbucks plunged 9.2 percent and Mattel dropped 7.8 after their respective reports.
Healthcare was the best-performing sector, rising 0.5 percent.
About 6.1 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, roughly in line with the 6-billion average over the last 20 sessions.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.16-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
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