US STOCKS-S&P 500 trading near flat, lingering below record highs

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* Applied Materials Inc rises on strong Q4 outlook
* Retail sales rise 1.2% in July vs 7.5% gain in June
* CureVac shares nearly triple in Nasdaq debut
* Indexes: Dow up 0.1%, S&P 500 down 0.05%, Nasdaq down 0.3%

(Updates to late afternoon)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
Aug 14 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 was near flat, hovering below
record highs, on Friday as data showed the U.S. economy was
still hurting from the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to uncertainty
over the recovery.
Aggressive stimulus measures have helped the three main U.S.
stock indexes bounce back from a coronavirus-driven crash in
March, and the S&P 500 briefly traded above its Feb. 19 record
close for a second straight day on Thursday.
But the index has been unable to finish above the record,
partly as prospects of more fiscal aid have faded with the
Senate and House of Representatives in recess and no fresh talks
scheduled. "Investors are taking a pause. We've advanced pretty far off
of the March 23 lows, and there's still a lot of uncertainty
with regard to the overall economy, as well as the increase in
case count that we've seen over the past month or so," said
Brian Price, head of investments for Commonwealth Financial
Network.
"I think the market is going to tread water here for a
little bit."
Data on Friday showed U.S. retail sales increased less than
expected last month and could slow further due to spiraling
COVID-19 cases and a reduction in unemployment benefit
checks. Separately, readings showed that U.S. factory output
increased more than expected in July, but remained below
pre-pandemic levels while consumer sentiment was largely steady
in the first half of August. The upcoming U.S. presidential election is adding another
layer of caution, along with continued outbreaks of the virus in
parts of the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 20.38 points,
or 0.07%, to 27,917.1, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.52 points, or
0.05%, to 3,371.91 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped
33.64 points, or 0.3%, to 11,008.87.
The benchmark S&P 500 was still set to rise for a third
straight week.
Shares of German biotechnology firm CureVac BV CVAC.O
surged in their Nasdaq debut, marking the first stock market
launch by a company developing a potential vaccine for the novel
coronavirus. L4N2FG3OM
Applied Materials Inc AMAT.O gained 3.4% after it forecast
fourth-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates following a
rebound in demand for chip equipment and services. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.13-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and eight new lows.



(Addditional reporting by Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh in
Bengaluru; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)