US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow set to extend longest losing spree in a year

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* U.S. coronavirus cases top 7 million
* Costco Wholesale drops on high COVID-19 costs
* Tech-related stocks set to climb again
* Futures: Dow off 0.37%, S&P down 0.25%, Nasdaq up 0.19%

(Adds comments; updates prices)
By Devik Jain
Sept 25 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow were to set to
open lower on Friday, extending their longest losing spree in a
year as fears about the outlook for the economy in a future
still dominated by the coronavirus weighed on investor
sentiment.
Shares of tech mega-caps including Facebook Inc FB.O ,
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Apple Inc
AAPL.O and Netflix Inc NFLX.O , which are perceived as
relatively safe assets at a time of economic uncertainty, inched
higher in premarket trading.
A clutch of downbeat macroeconomic data has weighed on Wall
Street in recent weeks, overshadowing signs of progress on
Congressional stimulus that, analysts say, is needed to sustain
an economic recovery. "There's evidence of a slowdown in the United States, which
we think is temporary, but it would be reinforced if there is no
additional fiscal package," said Sebastien Galy, senior macro
strategist at Nordea Asset Management in Luxembourg.
The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX is on course for its fourth
straight weekly decline - its longest losing streak since August
2019 - and is hovering just above correction territory with
investors oscillating between beaten-down technology-related
shares and value-linked sectors such as industrials.
At 8:59 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 100 points,
or 0.37%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 8 points, or 0.25%,
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 20.75 points, or 0.19%.
Analysts warned the CBOE volatility index .VIX , known as
Wall Street's fear gauge, could climb higher toward the end of
the quarter next week as well as the Nov. 3 presidential
election.
Costco Wholesale Corp COST.O fell 1.7% as the warehouse
chain recorded high coronavirus-related costs for the second
straight quarter. Boeing Co BA.N edged higher after Europe's chief aviation
safety regulator said the planemaker's grounded 737 MAX could
receive regulatory approval to resume flying in November and
enter service by the end of the year. Novavax Inc NVAX.O rose 5.5% after the drugmaker launched
a late-stage trial of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in the
UK.