US STOCKS-Coronavirus concerns drag down Wall St, but indexes eke out weekly gains

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* Bank stocks pummeled as Treasury yields slide
* Energy shares swoon as oil prices dive
* Indexes down: Dow 0.98%, S&P 1.71%, Nasdaq 1.87%

(Updates to market close)
By April Joyner
NEW YORK, March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday as
fears of economic damage from the spread of the coronavirus
intensified, though Wall Street's major indexes ended well above
their session lows.
The S&P 500 .SPX posted its 10th decline in 12 sessions as
moves to contain the virus crippled supply chains and prompted a
sharp cut to global economic growth forecasts for 2020. Since
its record closing high on Feb. 19, the benchmark index has lost
more than 12%, wiping out $3.43 trillion from its market
capitalization, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. Even so, for the week the S&P 500, along with the Dow Jones
Industrial Average and the Nasdaq, posted a modest gain as
stocks on Friday pared losses late in the session. Comments from
Federal Reserve officials about the possibility of using other
tools in addition to interest rate cuts to blunt the economic
impact of the coronavirus helped stocks ease declines, said
Alicia Levine, chief strategist at BNY Mellon Investment
Management in New York. Nonetheless, "it's very unclear what the economic impact
will be," Levine said.
Yields on long-dated U.S. Treasuries fell to record lows as
investors fled to bonds, whose prices move inversely to their
yields. The drop in Treasury yields weighed heavily on shares of
financial companies .SPSY , which tumbled 3.3%. The S&P 500
banks index .SPXBK dropped 4.7%, bringing its total decline
for the week to more than 8%.
Shares of cruise operators Carnival Corp CCL.N and Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N slid after Reuters reported that
the administration of President Donald Trump was considering
ways to discourage U.S. travelers from taking cruises. Carnival
shares fell 2.6%, and Royal Caribbean shares dropped 1.2%.
"The decline today is all about the efforts to contain the
spread of the virus," said Emily Roland, co-chief investment
strategist at John Hancock Investment Management in Boston. "The
measures being taken could dampen commerce and consumer
activity, and markets are responding to that."
Data showing a robust pace of hiring in February largely
went ignored, given that the data captured little of the impact
from the coronavirus. A sharp downturn in later economic and
corporate earnings data would likely strike a further blow to
U.S. markets, analysts said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 256.5 points,
or 0.98%, to 25,864.78, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 51.57 points, or
1.71%, to 2,972.37, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
162.98 points, or 1.87%, to 8,575.62.
For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, the Dow added 1.8%
and the Nasdaq rose 0.1%.
All 11 S&P sectors ended lower on the day Friday, led by a
5.6% drop in energy stocks .SPNY , which tracked a 10% slump in
U.S. crude prices. The Cboe Volatility Index .VIX , known as "Wall Street's
fear gauge," hit its highest level since August 2015 during the
session but pulled back as stocks pared losses. It ended 2.32
points higher at 41.94.
Starbucks Corp SBUX.O shares declined 1.1% after the
coffee chain said it expected its sales in China in the quarter
ending in March to fall by 50% in stores open for at least a
year. Costco Wholesale Corp COST.O shares fell 1.4% as it said
it was struggling to keep up with demand for essentials,
including disinfectants. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
4.40-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.77-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs and 142 new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 16 new highs and 542 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 14.20 billion shares, compared
to the 10.54 billion average for the full session over the last
20 trading days.