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* TJX Cos jumps after quarterly same-store sales beat
* Walt Disney dips as CEO Robert Iger steps down
* U.S. health officials warn of pandemic
* Trump to speak on coronavirus at 6 p.m. ET
* Indexes up: Dow 0.40%, S&P 0.47%, Nasdaq 0.80%
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh
Feb 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a
rocky start to the week that shaved off more than 6% from each
of the main indexes on growth fears as the coronavirus spread in
several countries.
However, the indexes had briefly hit session lows in early
afternoon trading and the Dow Jones Industrials .DJI turned
negative after several health officials expressed concerns about
the outbreak.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials warned the
outbreak was on path to becoming pandemic, according to a
report. Germany is at the beginning of an epidemic after new cases
sprung up which can no longer be traced to the virus's original
source in China, its health minister said. "The selloff isn't driven by fundamentals, it is driven by
fear," said John Ham, associate advisor at New England
Investment and Retirement Group. "At the end of the day, it is a
buying opportunity for investors with a long-term focus."
Earlier in the day, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention urged Americans to prepare for the virus to spread in
the United States. President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a
news conference on the coronavirus at 6 p.m. ET (2300 GMT).
The main indexes have declined in the past four sessions and
the Dow .DJI shed more than 1,900 points in the last two days
on fears of a pandemic. The S&P 500 .SPX is still about 7% off
its all-time high it hit last Wednesday.
At 12:54 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 108.42 points, or 0.40%, at 27,189.78 and the S&P 500
.SPX was up 14.81 points, or 0.47%, at 3,143.02. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 71.79 points, or 0.80%, at 9,037.40.
Gains in shares of marquee companies such as Apple Inc
AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Netflix Inc NFLX.O
boosted the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX .
Ten of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading higher, with
technology .SPLRCT leading the charge with a 1.1% gain. The
energy .SPNY sector dropped 1.3%.
Among stocks, TJX Cos Inc TJX.N jumped 7.1% as the
offprice retailer beat quarterly same-store sales estimates.
Walt Disney Co DIS.N slipped 2.9% on news that Robert Iger
will step down as chief executive officer, handing the reins to
Disney Parks head Bob Chapek. Beyond Meat Inc BYND.O rose 3.4% as Starbucks Corp
SBUX.O said its Canadian stores would start selling its
plant-based breakfast sandwich next week. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.00-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a
1.10-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and 29 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 18 new highs and 144 new lows.