US STOCKS-Tech stocks lift Wall St as worries over rising virus cases mount

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* U.S. carriers fall amid fears of a virus resurgence
* American Airlines to raise $3.5 bln in new financing
* Virgin Galactic rises on deal for private space missions
* Indexes up: Dow 0.53%, S&P 0.60%, Nasdaq 0.90%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh
June 22 (Reuters) - Technology stocks pushed Wall Street's
main indexes higher on Monday but sentiment remained fragile as
a spike in coronavirus cases in the United States and other
major economies fueled fears of a setback to the nascent
economic recovery.
The World Health Organization reported a record rise in
global coronavirus cases on Sunday, driving demand for perceived
safe-havens, including gold and longer-term U.S. Treasuries.
US/ GOL/
Travel-related stocks, one of the worst-hit sectors due to
the outbreak, fell. The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR
dropped 0.7%, while shares of cruise operators Norwegian Cruise
Line NCLH.N and Royal Caribbean Cruises RCL.N both tumbled
about 6%.
"On one hand, the bulls have made their case for the fact
that the opening up is going much better than expected, yet the
bears are looking at the number of cases that are starting to
skyrocket," said Carlton Neel, chief executive officer of
investment research firm Chaikin Analytics in Philadelphia.
"There is a risk to the market that we come a long way very
quickly. The bulls have a lot to prove here in terms of further
gains, in the absence of maybe continued phenomenally good news
from retail sales and jobs market."
The S&P 500 is trading in a tight range of late as several
U.S. states, mainly in the West and South, have reported a surge
in cases, with Apple Inc's AAPL.O move to temporarily shut
some U.S. stores again on Friday underscoring concerns of a
delay in the recovery.
The benchmark index has climbed some 42% from its March lows
and the Nasdaq hit a record high earlier this month thanks to
trillions of dollars in monetary and fiscal support, the
reopening of businesses and improving economic data.
The S&P 500 is now just about 8% off its Feb. 19 record
high.
The high-flying Apple and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O traded at
all-time highs and provided the biggest boost to the three main
U.S. stock indexes. Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors were
higher.
At 12:54 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 137.79 points, or 0.53%, at 26,009.25, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 18.53 points, or 0.60%, at 3,116.27. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 89.37 points, or 0.90%, at 10,035.49.
U.S.-based meat processor Tyson Inc TSN.N slipped 2.9% as
China's customs authority suspended imports of poultry products
from a plant owned by the company that had been hit by the
coronavirus. American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O fell 6.6% as it planned
to secure $3.5 billion in new financing by selling shares and
convertible senior notes to boost liquidity. Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE.N soared 13.7% as it
signed up with NASA to develop a program to promote private
missions to the International Space Station. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.14-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 10 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 101 new highs and six new lows.