US STOCKS-S&P 500 closes barely higher as investors balance pandemic with recovery

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(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed slightly
higher on Monday as investors looked beyond new spikes in
coronavirus infections to focus on expectations that an economy
crippled by mandated shutdowns will soon be re-opened for
business.
Technology and healthcare shares provided the biggest lift
to all three major U.S. stock indexes and led the tech-heavy
Nasdaq to its sixth consecutive advance.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average remain within
20% of all-time highs reached in February, and the tech-heavy
Nasdaq is within 10% of its closing record.
Indeed, despite bleak recent economic data, including
Friday's 20.2 million drop in U.S. payrolls, Wall Street has
gained in recent weeks as investors look beyond pandemic to
recovery. "Investors have been buying equities given the realistic
expectation that massive fiscal and monetary stimulus will
reignite economic and profit growth," said David Carter, chief
investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York. "There
is still a fair amount of optimism in the markets, but this
could be quelled if coronavirus cases re-emerge."
But a surge of new coronavirus infections in Germany and
South Korea suggested early efforts to lift restrictions could
be premature, even as businesses around the world, shuttered by
social distancing restrictions, begin re-opening their doors.
"There's really no playbook for a health crisis like the
world is now experiencing," Carter added. "With no playbook,
there's much less certainty and markets are more likely to
vacillate."
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
0.45% to end at 24,221.99 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 0.01%, to 2,930.19.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC climbed 0.78% to 9,192.34.
First-quarter earnings season is nearing the final stretch,
with 440 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of
those, 67.5% have beaten Wall Street estimates, according to
Refinitiv data.
In aggregate, S&P 500 earnings are seen to have dropped by
12.1% in the first quarter, compared with a year ago.
Drug distributor Cardinal Health Inc CAH.N jumped as the
pandemic boosted third-quarter sales. Chesapeake Energy Corp CHK.N slid after it said bankruptcy
is among the options under consideration as the shale driller
copes with plummeting oil and gas prices. Marriott MAR.O shares fell after the hotel operator missed
first-quarter profit margins by a wide margin as bookings
plunged. Shares of Under Armour Inc UAA.N plunged after the
athletic wear company forecast a 50% to 60% drop in the second
quarter as many of its stores remain shuttered. Packaged food company General Mills GIS.N rose after
saying it expects to surpass its fiscal 2020 sales expectations
as consumers stock their pantries amid lockdowns.