US STOCKS-Wall St flat as healthcare losses limit tech gains

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* Healthcare hit by losses in Celgene, Bristol-Myers
* Energy stocks track oil slump
* Caesars jumps as Eldorado Resorts to buy co
* United Technologies up on Cowen upgrade
* Dow up 0.17%, S&P flat, Nasdaq off 0.04%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Shreyashi Sanyal
June 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were flat on
Monday, as losses in healthcare stocks offset gains in the
technology sector, while investors awaited a high-stakes meeting
between U.S. and Chinese leaders at the G20 summit later this
week.
Optimism over a revival in trade talks between the two
largest economies and hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut
interest rates to battle the impact of a trade war on economic
growth helped push the S&P 500 index .SPX to a record high on
Friday.
The benchmark index is up 7.2% so far in June and is on
track to recoup its losses from the previous month.
Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet
at the G20 summit on June 28-29 in Japan. Although analysts are
not expecting the two sides to come to a meaningful agreement,
any signs of a de-escalation could boost investor sentiment.
The trade-sensitive industrial sector .SPLRCI edged 0.18%
higher. But the biggest boost to the markets came from the
technology sector .SPLRCT , which rose 0.43%.
"Since the trade war began more than 12 months ago,
economically-sensitive parts of the global equity markets have
underperformed," said Brian Koble, chief investment officer at
Hefren-Tillotson, a wealth management company in Pittsburgh.
"Investors could be well-rewarded should there be progress
toward a trade deal."
Countering gains, the healthcare sector .SPXHC dropped
0.41%, weighed down by a 5% decline in shares of Celgene Corp
CELG.O and a 7% fall in those of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co
BMY.N .
Bristol-Myers said its planned $74 billion deal to buy
drugmaker Celgene was expected to close at the end of 2019 or
beginning 2020, compared with its earlier expectations of
closing the deal in the third quarter. The energy sector .SPNY dropped 0.73%, the most among the
11 major S&P sectors, as oil prices fell 1% on demand concerns
and signs of easing tensions between the United States and Iran.
O/R
At 12:55 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 44.64 points, or 0.17%, at 26,763.77 and the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 0.76 points, or 0.03%, at 2,951.22.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was down 3.50 points, or 0.04%,
at 8,028.21. The Nasdaq Biotechnology index .NBI fell 1.50%.
Shares of casino operator Caesars Entertainment Corp CZR.O
jumped 15.7% after rival Eldorado Resorts Inc ERI.O said it
had agreed to buy the company for $8.5 billion. Shares of
Eldorado fell 11.4%. United Technologies Corp UTX.N gained 1.4% after Cowen &
Co upgraded the building and aerospace supplier to "outperform"
from "market perform".
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.12-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.55-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 35 new 52-week highs and four new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and 57 new lows.