US STOCKS-S&P 500 set for worst day in a month on fresh virus fears

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or type
LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Big banks jump after Fed's stress test results
* U.S. Congress set to vote on $900 bln relief bill
* Tesla slips from record high in its S&P 500 debut
* Indexes down: Dow 0.53%, S&P 1.14%, Nasdaq 0.93%

(Adds comment; updates share prices)
By Ambar Warrick and Devik Jain
Dec 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 was set for its worst day in
a month on Monday as a more-virulent strain of the coronavirus
in Britain sparked fears of fresh disruptions and offset
optimism over a coronavirus aid package.
The strain, which is said to be up to 70% more transmissible
than the original, forced many countries to shut their borders
with the United Kingdom. This shifted focus from a $900 billion coronavirus relief
package, which is poised to be voted into effect by Congress
later in the day. Anticipation of the bill had pushed Wall
Street to record highs last week. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O was among the biggest
drags on the S&P 500, falling 4.8% from a record high in its
first day of trading on the benchmark index. "Optimism coming into this week was very high, and the
markets were in need of a breather. You're going to see a bit of
profit taking between now and the end of the year," said Paul
Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in
Chicago.
Ten of the 11 major S&P sub-indexes fell, with energy shares
.SPNY leading declines as crude prices slipped on concerns of
waning fuel demand. O/R
Travel-related stocks marked big declines, with the S&P 1500
airlines index .SPCOMAIR falling 2.6%. Cruise operators Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N , Carnival Corp CCL.N and
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N shed between 2.6%
and 3.8%.
"The precautions required to assess the potential harm of
the new COVID-19 strain will undoubtedly introduce additional
risk to markets, which expected a smooth return to normal life
following the vaccine's rollout," said James McDonald, chief
executive officer of Hercules Investments in Los Angeles.
At 11:47 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 159.59 points, or 0.53%, at 30,019.46, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 42.13 points, or 1.14%, at 3,667.28, and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 118.72 points, or 0.93%, at
12,636.92.
The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX , also known as Wall
Street's "fear gauge", jumped to its highest level since early
November and was last at 25.96 points.
The S&P financials sector .SPSY was the only S&P sector
trading positive, thanks to gains in major lenders after the
Federal Reserve permitted big banks to pay out dividends and buy
back stock on a limited basis following a stress test.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N touched its highest level
since April 2018.
Nike Inc NKE.N jumped 5.1% following multiple price target
raises after the athletic apparel maker boosted its full-year
revenue forecast. Lockheed Martin Corp LMT.N fell 1.3% after it agreed to
buy U.S. rocket engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc
AJRD.N for $4.4 billion. Shares of Aerojet climbed 22.3%.
International Business Machines Corp IBM.N slipped 3%
after saying it would acquire Finland-based startup Nordcloud,
the latest in its series of deals focused on cloud computing.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 3.16-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.86-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded seven new 52-week highs and no new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 113 new highs and 14 new lows.