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* Indexes up: Dow 1.70%, S&P 1.64%, Nasdaq 1.84%
* Ralph Lauren climbs after profit beat
* Alphabet slips as Google's ad business disappoints
* U.S. factory orders post biggest rise in about 1-1/2 yrs
(Changes quote, adds details, updates prices)
By Medha Singh
Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks surged on Tuesday and the S&P
500 and Nasdaq were on pace to unwind losses from last week as
fears of a heavy economic impact from the coronavirus epidemic
tapered off after China's central bank intervened for the second
China injected 1.7 trillion yuan ($242.74 billion) via
reverse repos on Monday and Tuesday, helping Chinese stocks
reverse some losses and lifting the world equity index
.MIWD00000PUS . The stimulus boosted investor sentiment even as several
economists cut forecasts for 2020 global growth as the
fast-spreading virus hampers business operations in the world's
second largest economy. "If China is doing what it needs to contain the worst-case
scenario from a financial perspective, then maybe the weakness
we saw last week was a little overdone," said Willie Delwiche,
investment strategist at Baird.
The S&P 500 .SPX has so far recouped 2% loss from last
week, which was its the steepest weekly drop in six months. The
Nasdaq .IXIC was just shy of a record high.
Technology stocks .SPLRCT , which are typically sensitive
to growth related concerns in China, led the charge with their
2.5% gain. The China-focused Philadelphia SE semiconductor index
.SOX climbed 2.8%.
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O dropped 3.3% after Google's
advertising business and new data about YouTube and Google Cloud
broadly disappointed. At 11:29 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 484.06 points, or 1.70%, at 28,883.87, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 53.26 points, or 1.64%, at 3,302.18 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 170.28 points, or 1.84%, at 9,443.68.
Adding to the optimism was data that showed new orders for
U.S.-made goods rose by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years in
December. It comes a day after a surprise rebound in factory
activity in January. The fourth-quarter earnings season is half done and nearly
70% of companies that have reported so far have surpassed
earnings estimates.
Ralph Lauren Corp RL.N jumped 9.1% after the retailer's
holiday-quarter profit beat market expectations. Health insurer Centene Corp CNC.N slipped about 1.5%,
weighed down by a surge in quarterly medical costs. Investors were also keeping an eye on the U.S. Democratic
presidential nominating race, where officials blamed
"inconsistencies" for an indefinite delay in Iowa's caucus
results. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.18-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2.94-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 58 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 99 new highs and 30 new lows.