US STOCKS-Wall St slips as surging virus cases undermine recovery hopes

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* Weekly jobless claims rise less than expected
* Walgreens drops after swinging to quarterly loss
* Cisco rises after Morgan Stanley upgrade
* Indexes down: Dow 1.70%, S&P 1.27%, Nasdaq 0.55%

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By Medha Singh and C Nivedita
July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes dropped on Thursday as
fears of another lockdown to contain a surge in coronavirus
cases overshadowed data pointing to a declining trend in weekly
jobless claims.
The Labor Department's most timely data on the economy
showed 1.31 million Americans filed for state unemployment
benefits in the latest week, down from 1.43 million in the
previous week. However, the labor market remains fragile as the United
States reported more than 60,000 new COVID-19 infections on
Wednesday, setting a single-day global record. "We are reaching levels of unemployment that are likely to
persist until a more true reopening can occur, either with a
vaccine, novel treatment, or time," said Jamie Cox, managing
partner for Harris Financial Group in Richmond, Virginia.
A batch of upbeat economic data including the record pace of
job additions in June has underscored that the stimulus-fueled
domestic economy was on the path to recovery.
The benchmark S&P 500 has risen more than 40% from its March
lows and is now about 7.8% below its February record high. The
Nasdaq notched a record close in the prior session and the Dow
is about 13.6% from its own February all-time peak.
At 11:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 444.06 points, or 1.70%, at 25,623.22, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 40.17 points, or 1.27%, at 3,129.77. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 58.12 points, or 0.55%, at 10,434.38.
Cyclical energy .SPNY and financials .SPSY lost the most
ground among the 11 major S&P sectors trading in the red.
In a bullish signal for near-term momentum, the benchmark
S&P 500's chart formed a "golden cross" pattern, in which its
50-day moving average vaulted above the 200-day moving average.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O tumbled 9.5% after it
reported a quarterly loss compared with a profit a year earlier,
hurt by non-cash impairment charges of $2 billion as COVID-19
disrupted business at its Boots UK division. Cisco Systems Inc CSCO.O rose 1.3% as Morgan Stanley
upgraded its rating on the network gear maker's stock to
"overweight".
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 4.59-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 4.07-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 30 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 102 new highs and 26 new lows.