US STOCKS-Wall St drops on sharp rise in virus cases, elevated jobless claims

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* Disney slips as theme parks reopening delayed
* Boeing declines after Berenberg downgrade
* Indexes down: Dow 0.75%, S&P 0.76%, Nasdaq 0.89%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
June 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday
following Wall Street's worst day in two weeks, as investors
were unnerved by an alarming rise in new coronavirus cases and
an elevated level of weekly jobless claims number.
Data showed about 1.48 million Americans signed up for
unemployment benefits in the last week. The figure came in only
slightly below the 1.5 million in the prior week as weak demand
forced U.S. employers to lay off workers even as businesses
reopened. Walt Disney Co DIS.N slipped 2% after it delayed the
reopening of theme parks due to the health crisis. A report also
said the company was considering postponing the July 24 release
of "Mulan". "Markets have been pricing in perfection over almost three
months that reopening (businesses) will begin to kick-start the
economy off the lows," said Michael Hans, chief investment
officer at Clarfeld Citizens Private Wealth in Greater New York
City Area.
But the course of the pandemic remains uncertain, Hans said,
adding that "until we have a little bit more clarity, it is only
natural that markets take a breather here."
The resurgence in virus cases across the United States has
revived fears of another lockdown to contain the pandemic and
threatened to halt a Wall Street rally that was powered by a
raft of global stimulus since late March.
After coming within 5% of its record high in early June, the
benchmark S&P 500 has lost nearly 6% in the past two weeks and
analysts cautioned further declines amid worsening economic
forecasts.
The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday warned of a
nearly 5% plunge in the global economic output in 2020.
At 9:51 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 190.82 points, or 0.75%, at 25,255.12, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 23.10 points, or 0.76%, at 3,027.23 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 88.08 points, or 0.89%, at 9,821.09.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sub-sectors were lower with
utilities .SPLRCU and industrials .SPLRCI posting the
steepest declines.
Boeing Co BA.N tumbled 2.7% as rival Airbus AIR.PA
reached a crucial jetliner production target and smoothed recent
industrial problems. Berenberg also reduced its rating on the U.S. planemaker's
shares to "sell", noting elevated near-term risks linked to the
pandemic, the pace of recovery in air travel and uncertainty
related to production rates. Declining issues outnumbered advancers more than 2-to-1 on
the NYSE and the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 17 new highs and six new lows.