The S&P 500 information technology index, which has led other sectors in 2017, dipped 0.28 percent. Apple lost 0.90 percent after hitting a record high the day before. It and Amazon.com, down 0.97 percent, weighed more than any other stocks on the S&P 500.

Silicon Valley electric carmaker Tesla jumped 6.50 percent reporting quarterly results above Wall Street's expectations.

Analysts on average expect S&P 500 earnings to have grown 11.8 percent and they project earnings up 9.2 percent for the September quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The S&P 500 has risen 11 percent in 2017 and is trading at 18 times expected earnings, pricey compared to its 10-year average of 14, according to Thomson Reuters Datastream.

"Earnings are supporting this market and consumers are supporting it from a macroeconomic standpoint," said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management. "This is a Goldilocks economy, good enough to push the market higher, no bubbles in sight."

At 2:14 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.07 percent at 22,032.38, which would be a record high close.

The S&P 500 lost 0.19 percent to 2,472.79 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.28 percent to 6,344.96.

Wall Street has shrugged off a recent failure by a Republican-controlled Congress to overhaul healthcare as well as doubts about how easily President Donald Trump will be able to fulfill promises to cut taxes and increase infrastructure spending.

"There was a time earlier this year that the market was politically driven. I think the market is just numb to it at this point,” said Matthew Peterson, Chief Wealth Strategist for LPL Financial at Charlotte, North Carolina.

Investors are watching economic data for clues on the health of the economy ahead of the keenly awaited monthly payrolls data on Friday.

Labor Department data on Thursday showed weekly jobless claims fell last week, pointing to a tightening labor market, while a report from the Institute for Supply Management showed its non-manufacturing index fell to 53.9 last month from 57.4 in June.

Yum Brands fell 2.30 percent, while Dish Network lost 4.2 percent after releasing their earning reports.

Avon Products fell 10.27 percent after the cosmetics seller posted an unexpected quarterly loss and said its CEO will step down. (Additional reporting by Kimberly Chin in New York and Tanya Agrawal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski)