CORRECTED-US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq set course for new closing highs as coronavirus fears abate

(Corrects to make clear that Chinese senior medical adviser,
not WHO, said outbreak may be over by April)
* Sprint, T Mobile jump as merger wins approval
* Under Armour slumps after disappointing profit forecast
* Fed Chair Powell calls U.S. economy 'resilient'
* Indexes up: Dow 0.06%, S&P 0.31%, Nasdaq 0.30%

By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street advanced on Tuesday
with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on track to score their second
consecutive record highs after officials said the deadly
coronavirus could be contained by April.
The news brought buyers back to the equities market, pushing
all three major U.S. stock averages into the black.
Amazon.com AMZN.O provided the biggest boost to both the
S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, while McDonald's Corp MCD.N led the
blue-chip Dow's advance.
The World Health Organization, or WHO, characterized the
Chinese coronavirus as a "very grave" international threat. But
China's foremost medical adviser on the outbreak said the crisis
could be over by April, soothing jitters over the fast-moving
epidemic, which has spooked investors. "It feels as though the market is nervous but it keeps
moving higher," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist
and senior portfolio manager at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New
York.
"The concern of not being in this market is outweighing the
risk of being in the market," Pavlik added. "People are nervous
but they're more nervous about not making the returns and
sitting on the sidelines."
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. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 16.92 points,
or 0.06%, to 29,293.74, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 10.28 points,
or 0.31%, to 3,362.37 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
29.16 points, or 0.3%, to 9,657.55.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, all but
communications services .SPLRCL , consumer staples .SPLRCS
and technology .SPLRCT were trading in positive territory,
with real estate showing the largest percentage gain.
Fourth-quarter reporting season is heading into the final
stretch with 337 of the companies in the S&P 500 having
reported. Of those, 70.9% have beaten consensus estimates,
according to Refinitiv data.
Analysts now expect aggregate year-on-year fourth-quarter
earnings of 2.4%, a stark reversal from the 0.3% decline seen on
Jan 1.
T-Mobile TMUS.O shares jumped 11.1% after a federal judge
approved its purchase of Sprint, clearing the path for a deal
originally valued at $26 billion. Sprint S.N surged 72.9%, while larger rival Verizon
Communications Inc VZ.N slipped 2.2%.
Celular tower operators, including SBA Communications Corp
SBAC.O , American Tower Corp AMT.N and Crown Castle
International Corp CCI.N , rose between 4% and 7% on
expectations that the deal could increase tower demand.
Under Armour Inc UA.N tumbled 16.4% after the sportswear
company forecast a surprise drop in 2020 profit. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.53-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.92-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 78 new 52-week highs and two new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 146 new highs and 56 new lows.