US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq scale new highs on China stimulus hopes

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* Garmin climbs after upbeat revenue forecast
* China expected to cut benchmark interest rates
* Fed minutes to be released at 2 p.m. ET (1900 GMT)
* Indexes up: Dow 0.48%, S&P 0.60%, Nasdaq 0.93%

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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 raft 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 Wall Street's rally in recent weeks.
"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 1.1%, the most among major S&P
sectors. Defensive real estate .SPLRCR and utilities .SPLRCU
were in the red.
Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 1.6%, 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 4.7% gain in Nvidia
Corp NVDA.O after Bernstein raised its rating on the
chipmaker's shares.
At 11:27 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 0.48% to 29,373.56 and the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.60% to
3,390.60.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 90.90 points, or 0.93%,
at 9,823.65.
Market participants now await 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 8% after the
wearable fitness devices maker forecast full-year revenue above
analysts' estimates.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.75-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.74-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 70 new 52-week highs and four new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 132 new highs and 32 new lows.