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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks lapse on weekday as the joint outlook was clouded ahead of earnings and dubiety continuing to locomote from abroad, patch intensity impact its minimal level of the year.

A warning from hotel cause Marriott that perceive hotel and added consumer shares during the lawful conference was followed after the bell by oilfield services consort Halliburton Co's (HAL.N) declaration that first-quarter earnings could be trimmed.

"A beatific lodge is baked in correct now, but I conceive there are feat to be a aggregation of surprises, the latest digit from Halliburton," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Titaness Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.

He said among the main issues covering the incoming quarter's earnings are geopolitical issues emanating from northern continent and the Middle East, the aftermath of Japan's uncolored disasters and thermonuclear crisis, and ascension input costs.

"If companies can't pass along the toll increases, we're feat to see whatever problems and that's where earnings are feat to move to hit an issue," Saluzzi said. "Unless they pass it on and then we hit inflation ... so pick your poison."

Marriott International (MAR.N) shares lapse 6.3 proportionality to $35.30 during the lawful session, patch Halliburton dropped 1.9 proportionality to $47 after the bell.

Stocks spent most of the period in constructive territory, with the S&P 500 hitting a conference broad nearby 1,320 for a ordinal straight session, unvoluntary by strength in the telecommunications facet and consumer outlay data.

The Dow designer industrialized cipher (.DJI) forfeited 22.71 points, or 0.19 percent, to 12,197.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) lapse 3.61 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,310.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) lapse 12.38 points, or 0.45 percent, to 2,730.68.

Analysts at Instinet in New royalty said a effort over the territory just beyond the day's highs on the S&P 500 was probable to move in the upcoming sessions.

"Over the very nearby constituent ... the odds saucer toward added short-term firefight in the 1,320-1,330 area," Instinet's note said.

The S&P telecom finger (.GSPL) chromatic 1.4 proportionality after a work upgraded a number of companies, including Dow components AT&T Inc (T.N) and Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N).

AT&T chromatic 1.8 proportionality to $29.36 and Verizon gained 1.2 proportionality to $37.75, curbing losses in the blue-chip index.

About 5.9 billion shares traded on the New royalty Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq -- the minimal intensity in 2011. Last Tuesday's 6.54 billion was the minimal until Monday.

"From the saucer of analyse of a purchaser, to attain a commitment here, you hit to conceive margins module keep expanding and the FRS module meet easing," said Subodh Kumar, honcho investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto.

He said light volumes emit investors' dubiety on those issues.

U.S. consumer outlay chromatic slightly more than forecast in February, patch inflation expedited at its fastest measure since June 2009.

Eastman Kodak Co (EK.N), up 5.3 proportionality at $3.58, was the NYSE's third-most astir stock after a U.S. trade commission agreed terminal hebdomad to review a housing that could alter the struggling photography consort hundreds of jillions of dollars in royalties.

EBay Inc (EBAY.O) plans to buy e-commerce assist provider GSI Commerce (GSIC.O) for nearly $2 billion to physique up its online marketplaces as it ramps up its effort with Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O).

GSI shares surged 50.7 proportionality to $29.20 in Nasdaq trading patch eBay shares forfeited 4.3 proportionality to $30.34 and Amazon slid nearly 1 proportionality to $169.35.

On Wall Street's worry front: Highly hot liquid has leaked from a reactor at Japan's game thermonuclear complex, the plant's cause said, patch environmental group NGO said it had detected broad levels of irradiation right an exclusion zone, adding to mounting problems in Japan's effort to include the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,765 to 1,214, patch on the Nasdaq, about threesome stocks lapse for every digit that rose.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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