US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow dip on rising virus cases, elevated jobless claims

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* Weekly jobless claims higher than expected
* Carnival Corp falls after warning of annual loss
* Spotify climbs on signing podcast deal with Warner Bros
* Indexes: Dow dips 0.45%, S&P off 0.15, Nasdaq up 0.17%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
June 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow retreated on
Thursday as an uptick in coronavirus infections in parts of the
United States threatened to upend bets of a swift economic
recovery, with data showing weekly jobless claims remained
elevated.
Several U.S. states including Texas, Florida and Oklahoma
reported a surge in new infections. However, President Donald
Trump said late on Wednesday the United States would not close
businesses again. "Without a vaccination or solution to this healthcare
problem, it's going to continue to create economic problems even
though the data has probably bottomed in the United States and
China," said Nate Fischer, chief investment strategist of
Strategic Wealth Partners, in Cleveland.
The Labor Department's report showed initial claims for
state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 1.508
million for the week ended June 13, the eleventh straight weekly
drop. "It's off a very low base, so the numbers have done better
than expected, but the risk-reward profile right now is not that
favorable given how far we have run off the bottom," Fischer
said.
The S&P 500 .SPX is about 8% below its February all-time
high, while the Nasdaq .IXIC is about 1.5% below a June 10
peak.
At 9:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 118.54 points, or 0.45%, at 26,001.07, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 4.78 points, or 0.15%, at 3,108.71.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 16.69 points, or 0.17%,
at 9,927.22.
Healthcare stocks .SPXHC weighed the most on the benchmark
index with most S&P sectors trading in the red. Technology
.SPLRCT and materials .SPLRCM outperformed.
Carnival Corp CCL.N slipped 0.7% after reporting a
quarterly net loss of $4.4 billion and warning of a loss for the
rest of the year after the pandemic brought its cruise business
to an effective standstill. Spotify Technology SA SPOT.N jumped 5% after signing a
podcast deal with AT&T Inc's T.N Warner Bros and DC
entertainment featuring popular DC comics characters.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.83-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.08-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and no new low.