US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow ease from record highs; stimulus in focus

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* Coty drops as demand for makeup products dwindles
* Take-Two tumbles as quarterly sales fall
* Indexes: Dow down 0.26%, S&P dips 0.10%, Nasdaq up 0.18%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Dow and the S&P 500 eased from record
highs on Tuesday as investors digested recent gains while
awaiting progress in passing a proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus
plan.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, hit an all-time
high for the fifth consecutive session, supported by gains in
Apple Inc AAPL.O and Netflix Inc NFLX.O .
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc TTWO.O fell nearly 6%
after the videogame publisher posted a drop in quarterly
adjusted sales and shied away from announcing any new big
releases. Largely upbeat corporate earnings so far along with monetary
and fiscal support have powered the Dow .DJI and the S&P 500's
.SPX six-day run but analysts have cautioned against risks
from new coronavirus variants and any glitches in vaccine
rollouts.
"We've come a long way in a short time," said Josh Wein,
portfolio manager with Hennessy Funds. "It won't take a lot for
the market to pause ... whether it's deliberations over fiscal
stimulus, or the occasional talk of inflation or interest rates
getting some lift."
The energy sector .SPNY , among the sectors that led the
recent rally, shed about 2% while defensive utilities .SPLRCU ,
consumer staples .SPLRCS and real estate .SPLRCR
outperformed among major S&P sectors.
Last week's data showing slower-than-expected growth in the
labor market underscored the need for more government aid to
blunt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The White House expects the House of Representatives to
track closely to President Joe Biden's relief plan as it marks
up its latest round of legislation but expects lawmakers will
tweak some elements. Meanwhile, new cases of the virus have now fallen for four
weeks in a row to the lowest level since early November,
although health officials said they were worried new variants of
the virus could slow or reverse this progress. At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
fell 81.24 points, or 0.26%, to 31,304.52, the S&P 500 .SPX
lost 3.79 points, or 0.10%, to 3,911.80 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC gained 25.00 points, or 0.18%, to 14,012.64.
The banking index .SPXBK shed about 0.8%, tracking a fall
in U.S. Treasury yields.
Toymaker Mattel Inc MAT.O rose about 1%, while telephone
equipment maker Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O slipped 0.8% ahead of
their earnings after market close.
Analysts see fourth-quarter S&P earnings to gain 2.4%, a
stark reversal from the 10.3% annual decline seen at the
beginning of the year, per Refinitiv.
Glu Mobile Inc GLUU.O jumped about 34% on a $2.4 billion
buyout offer from Electronic Arts Inc EA.O that would bolster
EA's mobile platform with the addition of games such as "Design
Home", "Covet Fashion", and "MLB Tap Sports Baseball".
Gucci lipstick maker Coty Inc COTY.N tumbled 13% as weak
demand for makeup products wiped off millions off its quarterly
revenue. Bitcoin BTC=BTSP fast approached the $50,000-mark as the
afterglow of Elon Musk-led Tesla's investment in the
cryptocurrency had investors reckoning it may become a
mainstream asset class for both corporations and money managers.
Cryptocurrency miner Riot Blockchain RIOT.O and Marathon
Patent Group MARA.O jumped 6% and 8%, extending their sharp
gains for the second day.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.3-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE while they matched them on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 315 new highs and five new lows.