US STOCKS-Wall St surges on hopes of slowing coronavirus deaths

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* Utilities lead gains among major S&P 500 sectors
* Banks stocks track Treasury yields higher
* Volatility index falls to two-week low
* Dow up 5.85%, S&P 500 up 5.59%, Nasdaq up 5.63%

(Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks surged on Monday,
with each of the major indexes rallying more than 5%, after a
drop in the daily death toll in New York, the country's biggest
coronavirus hot spot, fueled hopes a leveling off of the
pandemic was on the horizon.
On Sunday, New York, the biggest U.S. hot spot, reported
virus-related deaths that had fallen slightly from the day
before, the first instance in a week. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo followed on Monday that
hospitalizations of coronavirus patients are down and the rate
of the rise in deaths has leveled off in the hardest-hit state,
but he cautioned against complacency. "It is definitely not going to be a one-way street but this
potentially could be a turning point, we are starting to get
some good news and hopefully that trend will continue," said
Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook
Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.
"But that is not to say it is going to be a smooth path. We
all know from the recovery we experienced after the 2008
financial crisis there is always a potential for a negative
development to cause the market to pull back again."
Even with the positive signs, U.S. officials have braced the
country for a "peak death week" from the pandemic, with the
death toll topping 10,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1,232.49
points, or 5.85%, to 22,285.02, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 139.16
points, or 5.59%, to 2,627.81 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
added 415.36 points, or 5.63%, to 7,788.44.
All 30 Dow components were in positive territory, led by a
gain of 17.54% in Boeing BA.N shares, while the defensive
utilities .SPLRCU , up 7.59%, was the best performing of the 11
major S&P sectors.
The S&P 500 banking index .SPXBK jumped 6.78% and was
poised for its best day in more than a week. Bank of America
BAC.N , Citigroup C.N , Wells Fargo WFC.N and JPMorgan
JPM.N advanced between 5.8% and 8.8%, tracking Treasury
yields.
Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX fell to its lowest in two
weeks, but remained at elevated levels. During the financial
crisis of 2007-08, the S&P 500 took months to establish a bottom
even after the volatility index plummeted. Despite Monday's bounce, the S&P 500 .SPX remains down
more than 22% from its mid-February record close.
S&P 500 companies are expected to enter an earnings
recession in 2020, with declines in profit in the first and
second quarters, according to IBES data from Refinitiv, as
demand evaporates across sectors such as airlines, luxury goods
and industrials. First quarter expectations now call for an
earnings decline of 6% from the year-ago period.
Versace owner Capri Holdings CPRI.N surged 27.9% after
saying it expects to open its stores after June 1 and that it
would furlough all its 7,000 employees in North America.
Video conferencing app Zoom ZM.O fell 7.5% on concerns
over its data-privacy practices and increased competition from
deep-pocketed rivals. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
8.45-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 5.11-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 6 new highs and 28 new lows.