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* Lyft slides after disappointing revenue outlook
* Bernie Sanders wins New Hampshire's Democratic primary
* Tech stocks provide the biggest to benchmark S&P
* Indexes up: Dow 0.62%, S&P 0.41%, Nasdaq 0.70%
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh
Feb 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes hit record
highs on Wednesday on optimism that the coronavirus epidemic
will be contained and as Bernie Sanders cemented his
front-runner status in the race of the Democratic nomination.
China reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases in
two weeks, bolstering a forecast by Beijing's senior medical
adviser for the outbreak in the country to end by April.
However, it was still unclear to what extent economic growth
would take a hit from the virus that has killed more than 1,100
people and shuttered businesses in China. "There's optimism that coronavirus cases have started to
slowdown," said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera
Investment Management, but added that "markets have not really
factored in the effects of coronavirus on the Chinese economy."
All major S&P sectors were higher and technology stocks
.SPLRCT , which have surged 10% so far this year, continued to
dominate with a 0.7% rise. Meanwhile, some investors speculated that Sanders' lead in
the race of the Democratic nomination for the 2020 presidential
election after his narrow win in New Hampshire increased the
chances of President Donald Trump staying in office.
"Markets are operating under the presumption that if Bernie
Sanders does get the nomination, he will not be able to win in a
general campaign...," said Danielle DiMartino Booth, chief
strategist of boutique research firm, Quill Intelligence.
"That would mean four more years of policies that have been
met with such friendliness by the financial markets."
Health insurers UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N , Centene Corp
CNC.N , Humana Inc HUM.N and Anthem Inc ANTM.N gained
between 2.8% and 3.8% and analysts pointed the share move to a
smaller-than-expected margin win for Sanders, who supports
elimination of private health insurance.
At 1:22 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 0.62% to 29,456.86 and the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.41% to
3,371.62. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 0.70% at 9,706.71.
The benchmark S&P 500 has risen nearly 5% from its late
January lows as largely positive fourth-quarter earnings and
encouraging U.S. economic data helped investors look past
coronavirus worries.
Lyft Inc LYFT.O slid 9.3% as the ride-hailing company
forecast slower revenue growth for the year. Micron Technology Inc MU.O climbed 4.6% after UBS upgraded
the chipmaker's shares to "buy".
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.75-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.59-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 63 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 121 new highs and 36 new lows.