US STOCKS-Wall St dips after five-day run on fears over virus surge

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* Novavax jumps on $1.6 bln govt award for COVID-19 vaccine
* Energy companies slip on concerns over fuel demand
* Indexes down: Dow 0.79%, S&P 0.36%, Nasdaq 0.06%

(Updates to open)
By C Nivedita
July 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street's major indexes slipped on
Tuesday following the benchmark S&P 500's longest streak of
gains this year as investors worried about the tens of thousands
of new coronavirus cases nationwide.
Florida's greater Miami area became the latest U.S.
coronavirus hot spot to roll back its reopening, while Texas
registered an all-time high in the number of people hospitalized
at any one moment with COVID-19 for an eighth straight day.
Energy stocks .SPNY dropped 2% on worries over fuel demand
while travel-related stocks, which were among the hardest hit
during lockdowns, also fell. The S&P 1500 airlines index
.SPLCOMAIR shed 4.2%. O/R
The conundrum of growing cases and rising stock prices
indicated that the liquidity from monetary stimulus is
overriding fears over the immediate impact of coronavirus on the
economy, said Ryan Giannotto, director of research at
GraniteShares ETFs in New York.
U.S. stocks have climbed despite an alarming rise in
coronavirus cases as a surprise expansion in the U.S. service
sector and a record job additions in June are among the slate of
upbeat data recently that have bolstered views that an economic
recovery is underway.
The benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow Industrials .DJI
have risen about 45% from their March lows and are now about 6%
and 11% from their record levels hit in February. The Nasdaq
.IXIC reclaimed its record high last month.
The S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 triggered a "golden cross"
pattern, when the 50-day moving average crosses above the
200-day moving average, which could portend more gains for
stocks in the short term.
At 10:00 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down
208.12 points, or 0.79%, at 26,078.91, the S&P 500 was down
11.52 points, or 0.36%, at 3,168.20, and the Nasdaq Composite
was down 6.22 points, or 0.06%, at 10,427.43.
Gains for technology .SPLRCT and communications services
.SPLRCS stocks capped declines on the S&P 500.
Novavax Inc NVAX.O jumped 30.6% as the U.S. government
awarded $1.6 billion to the drugmaker to cover testing,
commercialization and manufacturing of a potential coronavirus
vaccine in the United States. Royal Caribbean Group RCL.N and Norwegian Cruise Line
Holdings Ltd NCLH.N dropped 3.2% and 3.4% each, even as they
announced a joint task force to help develop safety standards
for restarting their businesses. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 3.77-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.91-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 13 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 46 new highs and nine new lows.