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* Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet lead indexes higher
* Tesla gains after Shanghai factory resumes production
* Simon Properties to buy Taubman Centers for $3.6 bln
* Indexes up: Dow 0.14%, S&P 0.26%, Nasdaq 0.61%
(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Wall Street gained ground and
the Nasdaq reached a new record on Monday as Chinese workers and
factories slowly returned to business following a Lunar New Year
holiday that was extended due to the deadly coronavirus
outbreak.
All three major U.S. stock averages were higher, led by
stalwarts Amazon.com AMZN.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O .
Worries over the coronavirus continued to keep market
participants on edge, with the death toll rising to 908 and the
World Health Organization (WHO) warning that new cases outside
of China could be "the spark that becomes a bigger fire."
But generally upbeat earnings and early signs that the virus
was being contained helped attract buyers to the equities
market.
"It seems like the world is dealing with (the coronavirus)
as best as it can," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase
Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. "It's accepted
there will be a slowdown due to it and the world has looked
right through that when it comes to valuing stocks."
"We know the coronavirus will affect results at least in
first quarter," Tuz added. "(But) we'll be back to growth as
usual for the rest of the year."
Tesla Inc's TSLA.O stock rose 2.7% on news that its
Shanghai factory had resumed production, and iPhone maker
Foxconn re-started a key plant in China with 10% of its
workforce. That is cold comfort for Apple, whose iPhone sales in China
could plunge by as much as 50% due to the virus, according to
analysts. The fast-spreading coronavirus has now caused more deaths
than the 2002-2003 SARS outbreak, and has affected a broad range
of companies and sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 41.05 points,
or 0.14%, to 29,143.56, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.73 points,
or 0.26%, to 3,336.44 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
58.03 points, or 0.61%, to 9,578.54.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500 all but energy
.SPNY , financial .SPSY and materials .SPLRCM were in the
black, with consumer discretionary .SPLRCD enjoying the
largest percentage gain.
Fourth-quarter reporting season is approaching the final
reel, with 324 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported.
Of those, 70.7% have beat Street estimates, according to
Refinitiv data.
Analysts now see aggregate year-on-year fourth-quarter
earnings growth of 2.3%, a reversal from the 0.3% decline
analysts projected on Jan 1.
Mall operator Taubman Centers Inc TCO.N jumped 53.2% on
news that it would be bought by larger rival Simon Property
Group Inc SPG.N in a deal valued at $3.6 billion. Simon
Property Group's shares inched up 0.6%.
Eli Lilly LLY.N dropped 1.0% after experimental
Alzheimer's treatments from the U.S. pharmaceutical firm and
Switzerland's Roche ROG.S failed to halt the disease.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.16-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.13-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 84 new highs and 80 new lows.