UPDATE 1-S&P 500 profit outlook for dims further

(Recasts first paragraph, adds fourth-quarter forecast)

NEW YORK, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Projections for U.S. corporate earnings in the third and fourth quarters fell from a week ago as a number of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index .SPX reported lackluster results, according to data from Reuters Estimates.

Consumer and finance companies look set to show the weakest performances of all the sectors.

Analysts now expect earnings for S&P 500 companies to decline 2.5 percent for the third quarter, compared with the 2 percent fall forecast last week, according to Reuters Estimates.

The figure is sharply lower than the expectations of Oct. 1, when earnings were projected to climb 3.3 percent.

Meanwhile, quarterly revenue is now projected to decline 4.1 percent, a sharper fall than the 1.3 percent drop forecast last week, according to Reuters Estimates.

The mediocre results have also tempered expectations for fourth-quarter earnings growth.

The Reuters Estimates data now show expectations of a 5.9 percent rise in earnings for the period, down from 7.6 percent growth expected as of Nov. 12.

The ailing consumer and finance sectors have been a particular drag on the overall numbers.

Consumer companies -- which have been tussling with rising food and fuel costs -- are expected to show a 26 percent drop in third-quarter earnings, according to Reuters Estimates.

The financial sector -- which has suffered from losses stemming from investments related to risky subprime mortgages -- is expected to see third-quarter earnings fall 25 percent.

Analyses see health care and technology posting the strongest third-quarter results, with respective earnings growth of 12 percent and 15 percent, according to Reuters Estimates. (Reporting by Justin Grant; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)