US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow clinch fresh highs as new coronavirus cases drop

© Reuters. US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow clinch fresh highs as new coronavirus cases drop

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* Molson Coors Beverage rises after profit beat

* Lyft slides after disappointing revenue outlook

* Energy shares up as oil prices jump

* Indexes up: Dow 0.67%, S&P 0.46%, Nasdaq 0.42%

(Updates to open)

By Medha Singh

Feb 12 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials hit

all-time highs on Wednesday as investors drew comfort from a

drop in the number of new cases of coronavirus infections in

China.

China on Wednesday reported its lowest number of new

coronavirus cases since January, lending weight to a prediction

by its top medical adviser for the outbreak to end by April.

However, it was still unclear to what extent economic growth

would take a hit from the virus that has killed more than 1,100

people, shuttered businesses in China and briefly disputed

global stock market rally in the past weeks. "The estimates for the hit to the Chinese economy is very

wide ranging, but mostly there's optimism the impact to the U.S.

economy is going to be minimal," said Randy Frederick, vice

president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in

Austin, Texas.

"Ultimately if the case count growth rate continues to slow,

this optimism continues."

The benchmark S&P 500 has climbed nearly 5% from late

January lows, as largely positive fourth-quarter earnings,

encouraging U.S. economic data and stimulus from China spurred

demand for risk despite concerns about the virus outbreak.

The S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC hit record closing

highs on Tuesday.

At 9:51 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI

rose 0.67% to 29,472.41 and the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.46% to

3,373.24.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 0.42% at 9,679.72.

The energy sector .SPNY gained 1.6%, the most among major

S&P sectors, as oil prices surged. The defensive real estate

.SPLRCR , utilities .SPLRCU and consumer staples .SPLRCS

lagged the most. O/R

A mostly upbeat fourth-quarter earnings season is beginning

to wind down, with 337 S&P 500 companies having reported. Of

those, 70.9% have surpassed profit expectations, according to

IBES data from Refinitiv.

Molson Coors Beverage TAP.N jumped 4.8% after the beer

maker beat quarterly profit and sales estimates. Lyft Inc LYFT.O slid 8.5% as the ride-hailing company

forecast slower revenue growth for the year. Micron Technology Inc MU.O gained 5.7% after UBS upgraded

the chipmaker's shares to "buy".

Markets will closely follow remarks from U.S. Federal

Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as he resumes the second day of his

semiannual economic report to the Congress.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.40-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 37 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq recorded 76 new highs and 17 new lows.