US STOCKS-S&P 500 muted as virus cases rise, jobless claims weigh

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* Weekly jobless claims higher than expected
* Carnival Corp falls after warning of annual loss
* Spotify rises on signing podcast deal with Warner Bros
* Indexes mixed: Dow dips 0.25%, S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.17%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
June 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 was little changed on
Thursday as coronavirus infections picked up again in parts of
the United States and data showed an elevated level of weekly
jobless claims, lending weight to predictions of a prolonged
economic recovery.
Several U.S. states including Texas, Florida and Oklahoma
reported a surge in new infections. However, President Donald
Trump said late on Wednesday the United States would not close
businesses again. The Labor Department's report showed weekly jobless claims
declining for the eleventh straight week, but the pace of
declines has slowed as tepid demand and fractured supply chains
have sparked a second wave of layoffs. A resurgence in coronavirus infections has kept the S&P 500
.SPX and Dow .DJI indexes in a narrow range since last week,
with the S&P 500 .SPX now 8% below its February all-time high
after coming within 5% of that level last week.
"The market has fully priced in a majority of the gains
coming out of this recovery phase and it's not really going to
go much higher until we get better data down the road," said
Andrew Smith, chief investment strategist at Delos Capital
Advisors, in Dallas, Texas.
At 1:09 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 64.75 points, or 0.25%, at 26,054.86 and the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 1.35 points, or 0.04%, at 3,112.14. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 16.91 points, or 0.17%, at 9,927.44.
Technology .SPLRCT was the biggest boost to the benchmark
index. Real estate .SPLRCR and utilities .SPLRCU posted the
steepest percentage declines.
Biogen Inc BIIB.O dropped 6.4% after a U.S. district court
ruled in favor of generic drugmaker Mylan NV MYL.O in a patent
dispute over drugmaker's blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug
Tecfidera. Mylan NV MYL.O rose 2%. Spotify Technology SA SPOT.N jumped 13.4% after signing a
podcast deal with AT&T Inc's T.N Warner Bros and DC
entertainment featuring popular DC comics characters.
Carnival Corp CCL.N slipped 1.7% after reporting a
quarterly net loss of $4.4 billion and warning of a loss for the
rest of the year as the pandemic brought its cruise business to
an effective standstill. Kroger Co KR.N declined 5.5% as it stopped short of
raising its annual forecasts, saying a coronavirus-driven surge
in demand for essential goods was fading as American households
reconsider what they have on their shelves. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.41-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.03-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 69 new highs and three new lows.