US STOCKS-Energy, healthcare shares keep a lid on Wall Street, Iran concerns linger

© Reuters. US STOCKS-Energy, healthcare shares keep a lid on Wall Street, Iran concerns linger

* Micron gains on bullish brokerage comment

* Microchip provides upbeat sales outlook

* Energy stocks slide as oil drops 1%

* Indexes: Dow down 0.08%, S&P off 0.06%, Nasdaq up 0.19%

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By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew

Jan 7 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial

Average slipped on Tuesday, led by losses in oil and healthcare

stocks, with investors nervously awaiting the latest in the

U.S.-Iran standoff.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq remained buoyant as chipmakers resumed

their strong rally from 2019.

Micron Technology Inc MU.O jumped 6.7% after brokerage

Cowen & Co upgraded the chipmaker to "outperform", citing

earlier-than-expected recovery in the memory market. Microchip

Technology Inc MCHP.O rose 5.3% after raising the mid-point of

its third-quarter sales forecast.

Energy stocks .SPNY were down 1% as oil prices surrendered

gains made over the last few days, and healthcare stocks

.SPXHC fell 0.3% as shares in Merck & Co Inc MRK.N were hit

by mixed results in its late-stage trial of a cancer drug.

Equity markets have been trying to shake off concerns from

escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran after the

killing of a top Iranian military commander last week by the

United States. "The reason why we are modestly negative here is the tension

in the Middle East and the noise coming out around it," said

Phil Blancato, chief executive officer of Ladenburg Thalmann

Asset Management in New York.

"I think the market is being very patient here, just waiting

for news from one side or the other."

Latest data showed new orders for U.S.-made goods fell in

November, pulled down by steep declines in demand for machinery

and transportation equipment, pointing to sustained weakness in

manufacturing. However, another reading on the non-manufacturing sector

activity for November came in better than expected. At 11:25 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was

down 23.62 points, or 0.08%, at 28,679.76, the S&P 500 .SPX

was down 1.99 points, or 0.06%, at 3,244.29 and the Nasdaq

Composite .IXIC was up 16.94 points, or 0.19%, at 9,088.40.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N rose 1.3% after the Wall

Street bank said it had overhauled its main business units ahead

of its quarterly results next week. Shares in Apache Corp APA.N soared 25% after it and

France's Total SA TOTF.PA said they made a major oil discovery

off the coast of Suriname at the closely watched Maka-Central 1

well. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.25-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 32 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq recorded 71 new highs and seven new lows.