US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq reach new heights on China stimulus hopes

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* Dow rises 0.55%, S&P climbs 0.62%, Nasdaq up 0.95%
* Fed minutes to be released at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT)
* Garmin climbs after upbeat revenue forecast
* China expected to cut benchmark interest rates

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh
Feb 19 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit all-time
highs on Wednesday as hopes that China would take more measures
to prop up its economy eased worries about the impact of the
coronavirus epidemic.
The number of new coronavirus cases also dropped for the
second straight day in China, although global health officials
cautioned it was too early to predict how the outbreak will play
out. China is widely expected to cut its benchmark lending rate
on Thursday, which would add to a number of measures aimed at
limiting the impact from business shutdowns and travel curbs on
the world's second-largest economy. Recent stimulus from China, confidence in the U.S. economy
and hopes that the damage from the outbreak will be short-lived
have fueled a recent run in U.S. stocks.
"China cutting lending rates ... is further evidence of how
far the central banks are willing to go to backstop markets,"
said David Bahnsen, chief investment officer of Newport Beach,
California-based The Bahnsen Group.
"The slowdown in China's economy is being perceived as
transitory and not structural. The market does not believe that
delayed sales is the same thing as lost sales."
Technology stocks .SPLRCT , which are sensitive to news
related to China's growth, gained 1.2% - the most among major
S&P sectors. Defensive real estate .SPLRCR and utilities
.SPLRCU were in the red.
Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 1.7%, recouping most of the ground
lost in the previous session on a surprise sales warning that
highlighted concerns about global supply chains.
Also helping the technology sector was a 5.2% gain in
chipmaker Nvidia Corp NVDA.O after Bernstein raised its shares
to "outperform".
At 12:44 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 161.42 points, or 0.55%, at 29,393.61 and the S&P 500
.SPX rose 20.91 points, or 0.62%, at 3,391.20. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 92.62 points, or 0.95%, at 9,825.37.
Investors are gearing up for the minutes of the U.S. Federal
Reserve's last policy meeting, where the central bank pointed to
continued moderate growth for the domestic economy and said it
was monitoring risks from the coronavirus outbreak.
The minutes will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET (1900 GMT).
Among other stocks, Garmin Ltd GRMN.O jumped 7.5% after
the wearable fitness devices maker forecast full-year revenue
above analysts' estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.61-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.76-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 74 new 52-week highs and five new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 142 new highs and 38 new lows.