US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq eke out new closing highs

(Updates to market close)
* FTC demands small deal data from tech giants
* Sprint, T Mobile jump as merger wins approval
* Fed Chair Powell calls U.S. economy 'resilient'
* Indexes: Dow flat, S&P 0.17%, Nasdaq 0.11%

By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and the Nasdaq inched
to their second consecutive record closing highs on Tuesday as
Chinese officials said the deadly coronavirus epidemic could be
contained by April.
But the Dow closed flat, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
pared their gains after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
issued orders to large tech companies to provide information on
mergers that were too small to report to antitrust regulators.
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O was the biggest drag on all three
major U.S. stock indexes following FTC's demand for data from
company. Data was also requested from Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O
Amazon.com AMZN.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Facebook Inc FB.O .
The World Health Organization, or WHO, called the Chinese
coronavirus "public enemy number one." But China's foremost
medical adviser on the outbreak said the crisis could be over by
April, soothing jitters over the fast-moving epidemic, even as
supply chains ruptured and Chinese firms began laying off
workers. "As much as there's a desire to push stock higher there's
also an exhaustion," Oliver Pursche, vice chairman and chief
market strategist at Bruderman Asset Management in New York.
"It's letting the air out and exhaling."
"The best thing that could happen for stocks this year is
that we go sideways for a while and let markets catch their
breath."
Market participants watched closely as U.S. Federal Reserve
Chair Jerome Powell began his semiannual economic update before
congress.
Powell's remarks reiterated his view that the economy, in
its 11th year of expansion, remains "resilient," but that the
central bank was closely monitoring potential risks, including
the coronavirus. "Powell addressed the coronavirus and acknowledged that it
might be a catalyst for the Fed to take action if warranted,"
Pursche added. "It means the Fed is keenly aware of the risks
but it also means that the risks are very real."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was flat, the S&P
500 .SPX gained 5.66 points, or 0.17%, to 3,357.75 and the
Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 10.55 points, or 0.11%, to
9,638.94.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but
communications services .SPLRCL , consumer staples .SPLRCS
and technology .SPLRCT closed in positive territory, with real
estate showing the largest percentage gain.
T-Mobile TMUS.O shares jumped 11.8% after a federal judge
approved its purchase of Sprint, clearing the path for a deal
originally valued at $26 billion. Sprint S.N surged 77.5%, while larger rival Verizon
Communications Inc VZ.N slid 2.6%.
Cell tower operators, including SBA Communications Corp
SBAC.O , American Tower Corp AMT.N and Crown Castle
International Corp CCI.N , gained between 4% and 7% on
expectations that the deal could increase tower demand.
Under Armour Inc UA.N tumbled 16.7% after the sportswear
company forecast a surprise drop in 2020 profit. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.31-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.75-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 80 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 152 new highs and 60 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 7.33 billion shares, compared
with the 7.67 billion average over the last 20 trading days.