US STOCKS-Fears of fresh virus wave hit Wall St, S&P 500 slips below 3,000 pts

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* All S&P sectors lower with banks, energy leading slide
* Moderna up on report Israel in talks to buy its vaccine
* S&P 500 drops below key 200-day moving average
* Indexes down: Dow 2.33%, S&P 1.86%, Nasdaq 1.38%

(Updates to open)
By Devik Jain and Medha Singh
June 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes slumped with
the S&P 500 falling below 3,000 points on Monday after a spike
in new coronavirus cases in China and parts of the United States
dampened hopes of a swift economic recovery.
Battered shares of U.S. airlines, casino operators and
cruise operators were among the top decliners after attempting a
rebound over the past month. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd
NCLH.N and Wynn Resorts WYNN.O fell 7% and 4.3%. The S&P
1500 airlines .SPCOMAIR lost 4.5%.
Beijing re-imposed curbs after a wholesale food market saw
an unexpected spike in cases, while the United States saw a
record number of new infections and hospitalizations in more
states, including Florida and Texas. The CBOE volatility index .VIX , a gauge of investor
anxiety, hit its highest level since April 22.
"People are fearful about new cases rising, but at some
point when you move 45% off the lows in such a short period of
time, any excuse will do to have a nice consolidation of the
gains," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great Hill Capital
Llc in New York.
Trillions of dollars in fiscal and monetary stimulus along
with easing of restrictions had lifted the S&P 500 earlier last
week as much as 47.5% from the pandemic low in March and helped
the tech-heavy Nasdaq confirm a bull market.
But, a dismal economic outlook from the U.S. Federal Reserve
and jitters over a resurgence in coronavirus cases sent the Wall
Street's main indexes for their worst week since March.
"The selloff since last week's high is a reminder that we
are not out of the woods yet. We expect a range-bound, choppy
market for some time," said from David Bahnsen, chief investment
officer, The Bahnsen Group, based in Newport Beach, California.
The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX was once again below its
closely watched 200-day moving average, after skirting around
that level late last week.
At 9:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 597.85 points, or 2.33%, at 25,007.69, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 56.71 points, or 1.86%, at 2,984.60. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 132.25 points, or 1.38%, at 9,456.56.
All major S&P sectors were lower with the
economically-sensitive energy .SPNY , financials .SPSY and
materials .SPLRCM posting the biggest percentage declines.
Beginning Tuesday, investors will focus on Fed Chair Jerome
Powell's two-day congressional testimony on the monetary policy
report.
Moderna Inc MRNA.O rose 3.8% after a report said Israel is
in advanced talks with the drug developer to buy its coronavirus
vaccine. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 10.77-to-1
ratio on the NYSE and for a 5.19-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 10 new highs and nine new lows.

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