US STOCKS-S&P 500 set to recoup $1 trillion in value as coronavirus deaths slow

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* Utilities, real estate, consumer staple stocks lead gains
* Trump says coronavirus crisis "leveling-off" in some areas
* Indexes surge: Dow 4.38%, S&P 4.31%, Nasdaq 4.44%

(Updates to open)
By Uday Sampath Kumar and Shreyashi Sanyal
April 6 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 was on track to recoup about
$1 trillion in market value on Monday in a frantic rally after
New York, the biggest U.S. coronavirus hot spot, reported a fall
in daily deaths, raising hopes that the pandemic could level-off
soon.
All three main stock indexes jumped more than 4%, with gains
led by utilities .SPLRCU , real estate .SPLRCR and consumer
staples .SPLRCS stocks - broadly considered the safest bets at
times of extreme volatility.
The S&P 500 banking index .SPXBK soared 7.3% and was set
for its best day in more than a week, with Bank of America
BAC.N , Citigroup C.N , Wells Fargo WFC.N and JP Morgan
JPM.N advancing between 5% and 8%, tracking Treasury yields.
"Seeing signs of stabilization in New York City is probably
the most important thing given the amount of capital that's
controlled through managers that live in the area," said Thomas
Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital LLC in New York.
"It's a tremendous relief for the market (but it's) not to
say that we're through the woods yet, because we're going to
have a tough week or two ahead."
The S&P 500 .SPX has fallen more than 20% since its
all-time highs in mid-February, marked by wild day-to-day price
swings, as the novel coronavirus brought business activity to a
virtual halt and sparked mass layoffs.
Despite the slowdown in the death toll in New York, U.S.
officials girded the country for a "peak death week" from the
pandemic. Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX fell to its lowest in two
weeks, but analysts cautioned against calling a bottom in equity
markets. During the financial crisis of 2007-08, the S&P 500
took months to establish its bottom even after the volatility
index plummeted. "This still looks like a case of over optimism," said Marios
Hadjikyriacos, investment analyst at online broker XM.
"A lot of uncertainty is still in the air and there is no
clear timeline for when any of these economies will be reopened,
which is the most important variable for markets."
At 10:51 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 921.50 points, or 4.38%, at 21,974.03, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 107.14 points, or 4.31%, at 2,595.79 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 327.02 points, or 4.44%, at 7,700.11.
Boeing Co BA.N said on Sunday it was extending the
suspension of production operations at its Washington state
facilities and it would stop paying about 30,000 workers this
week. The planemaker's shares rose 5.8%, but are still down nearly
60% this year.
Profits for S&P 500 firms are expected to drop in the second
quarter and investors fear more dire forecasts as demand across
sectors including airlines, luxury goods and industrials
evaporates.
Video conferencing app Zoom ZM.O fell more than 8% on
concerns over its data privacy practices and increased
competition from deep-pocketed rivals.