REFILE-US STOCKS-Wall Street gains on hopes of coronavirus slowdown

(Corrects typos in first and third bullet)
* S&P 500 set for best two-day gain in nearly two weeks
* Exxon, Halliburton track oil prices higher
* Cruise operators lead gains among S&P 500 firms
* Gains led by energy sector
* Indexes rise: Dow 2.68%, S&P 2.29%, Nasdaq 1.51%

By Uday Sampath Kumar and Shreyashi Sanyal
April 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Tuesday on early
signs of the coronavirus outbreak plateauing in some of the
biggest U.S. hot spots, with the New York state's governor
saying social distancing measures to curtail the spread of the
virus were working.
The S&P 500 was set for its biggest two-day gain in nearly
two weeks, building on a 7% jump on Monday, as health officials
also revised down dire projections of the U.S. death toll.
Gains were led by the energy .SPNY , financials .SPSY and
materials .SPLRCM sectors, with an aggressive round of U.S.
fiscal and monetary stimulus in the past month also boosting
risk appetite.
"The rally is sentimental and a little premature because if
we lift these lockdown measures too soon and try to resume
economic activity, we're going to get a very severe pandemic
rebound," said Indranil Ghosh, chief executive officer of Tiger
Hill Capital in London.
The S&P 500 .SPX is up about 22% from March intraday lows,
but remains 19% below its mid-February record high as the strict
stay-at-home orders crushed demand across industries including
airlines, automakers and hotels.
At 11:36 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 608.22 points, or 2.68%, at 23,288.21, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 61.00 points, or 2.29%, at 2,724.68 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 119.70 points, or 1.51%, at 8,032.94.
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX has steadily retreated from
12-year peaks, but volatility is expected to remain high as
companies prepare to report an expected slide in first-quarter
earnings and outline more drastic plans to bolster cash
reserves.
Analysts now expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 firms
to fall 6.4% compared to a Jan. 1 forecast for a rise of 6.3%.
"There's still a lot of headwinds that could cause this
market to re-test the lows," said Nancy Perez, senior portfolio
manager at Boston Private Wealth in Miami.
"There will be the initial resumption of business on paper,
but then the actual actions will have to follow."
Exxon Mobil XOM.N throttled back a multi-year investment
spree in shale, LNG and deep water oil production, saying it
would cut planned capital spending this year by 30% as the
pandemic saps energy demand. Oilfield services firm Halliburton Co HAL.N said it would
cut about 350 jobs in Oklahoma and that its executives would
reduce their salaries. Exxon and Halliburton shares jumped 5% and 7.4%,
respectively, also tracking a surge in oil prices amid hopes the
world's main oil producers would agree to a cut in output at a
meeting on Thursday. O/R
Norwegian Cruise Line NCLH.N , Royal Caribbean RCL.N and
Carnival Corp CCL.N , among the most heavily battered stocks
this year due to a near halt in global tourism, rose between 16%
to 24%.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners more than 6-to-1 on
the NYSE and 2-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded nine new highs and 14 new lows.