The Dow and the S&P 500 indexes moved lower on Friday as a brief boost from September existing home sales data evaporated, and gains in the U.S. dollar diminished the appetite for riskier assets.

The Nasdaq clung to a slight gain, however, after Microsoft Corp posted quarterly earnings above Wall Street's consensus estimate.

The Dow Jones home construction index <.DJUSHB> slipped 0.2 percent. It had risen by more than 1 percent following the housing data.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 48.37 points, or 0.48 percent, to 10,032.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 5.36 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,087.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 8.59 points, or 0.40 percent, to 2,173.88.

(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)