US STOCKS-Wall Street ends higher, led by energy and materials

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Moderna to start late-stage trial of COVID-19 vaccine in
July
* JPMorgan tops estimates, Wells Fargo swings to loss
* Delta warns air travel recovery two years away

(Updates with market close)
By Noel Randewich
July 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended higher on Tuesday, led
by a surge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, as investors
bought energy and materials stocks and looked beyond a recent
surge in coronavirus cases.
The S&P 500 energy .SPNY , materials .SPLRCM industrial
.SPLRCI , health .SPXHC and consumer staples .SPLRCS
indexes all jumped.
Limiting gains in the Nasdaq and S&P 500, Amazon AMZN.O
lost ground, extending a rotation that began Monday out of many
big-name technology and momentum stocks that have led much of
the U.S. stock market's rebound since March.
"Today is counterintuitive. We are reading about
California's economy shutting down and a record spike in cases
in Florida, and yet you have energy stocks leading," said Bob
Shea, chief executive officer at TrimTabs Asset Management in
New York. "We're seeing a mini-rotation into value."
JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , the largest U.S. lender, rose
after it posted a smaller-than-expected 51% drop in
second-quarter profit.
Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N tumbled after booking a quarterly
loss for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.
Citigroup Inc C.N dropped 3.6% as it reported a steep fall in
quarterly profit. The S&P 500 banks index .SPXBK dropped as the three banks
set aside a combined $28 billion to cover potential losses on
loans to borrowers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
Wall Street has reclaimed most of its coronavirus-driven
losses since March as a raft of monetary and fiscal stimulus and
upbeat economic data raised hopes of a swift post-pandemic
recovery.
But a recent record surge in COVID-19 cases and new business
restrictions, particularly in California, has again raised
uncertainty about how it may take for the economy to recover.
Alabama, Florida and North Carolina reported record daily
increases in COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday. Investors are bracing for what could be the sharpest drop in
quarterly earnings for S&P 500 firms since the 2008 financial
crisis, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
557.51 points, or 2.14%, to 26,643.31, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
42.37 points, or 1.34%, to 3,197.59 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 97.73 points, or 0.94%, to 10,488.58.
Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N dropped after it warned it will
be more than two years before the industry sees a sustainable
recovery from the "staggering" impact of the coronavirus
pandemic, with demand largely tracking the curve of infections
in different places. Moderna Inc MRNA.O jumped after it said it plans to start
a late-stage clinical trial for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate
on or around July 27. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
COVID-19's growing potential economic impact https://tmsnrt.rs/307zCt5
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>