US STOCKS-Wall Street treads water as virus cases rise; techs shine

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* U.S. carriers fall amid fears of a virus resurgence
* American Airlines to raise $3.5 bln in new financing
* Virgin Galactic rises on deal with NASA for space program
* Dow and S&P flat, Nasdaq up 0.28%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh
June 22 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes were
largely unchanged on Monday as investors assessed
stimulus-fueled recovery hopes against an increase in
coronavirus infections that could derail a rebound in business
activity.
Demand for perceived safe-havens, including gold and U.S.
Treasuries, rose as the World Health Organization reported a
record rise in global coronavirus cases on Sunday. Shares of airlines, one of the worst-hit sectors by the
lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus, tumbled, with the
S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR down 1.2%.
American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O fell 6% as it planned to
secure $3.5 billion in new financing by selling shares and
convertible senior notes to boost liquidity. "Investors are trying to calibrate the difference between an
increase in new coronavirus cases against sequentially improving
economic data…," said Art Hogan, strategist at National
Securities.
"The concern right now is the possibility of partial
reclosing of the economy as and when fresh cases flare up."
In the past week, several U.S. states, mainly in the West
and South, have reported a surge in cases, with Apple Inc's
AAPL.O move to temporarily shut some U.S. stores again on
Friday underscoring concerns of a delay in the recovery.
The rising cases have weighed on investment sentiment
recently. The S&P 500 is stuck in a trading range after
trillions of dollars in monetary and fiscal support, the
reopening of businesses and improving economic data lifted the
index about 40% from its March lows.
It is now just about 9% off its Feb. 19 record high.
Technology stocks .SPLRCT , which have powered much of the
rebound, again provided the biggest to the benchmark index. Four
of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher.
At 10:06 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 21.37 points, or 0.08%, at 25,892.83, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 2.89 points, or 0.09%, at 3,100.63. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 27.50 points, or 0.28%, at 9,973.62.
U.S.-based meat processor Tyson Inc TSN.N slipped 2.7% as
China's customs authority suspended imports of poultry products
from a plant owned by the company that had been hit by the
coronavirus. Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE.N soared 14.2% as it
signed up with NASA to develop a program to promote private
missions to the International Space Station. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.39-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded six new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 69 new highs and four new lows.