US STOCKS-Wall St recoups losses as financials, energy gain

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* Disney slips as theme parks reopening delayed
* Boeing declines after Berenberg downgrade
* Dow, S&P and Nasdaq flat

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By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
June 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were largely
flat on Thursday, as gains in financial and energy shares helped
recoup early losses on an alarming rise in new coronavirus cases
and elevated jobless claims.
All three indexes briefly turned positive in the session, a
day after posting their worst day in two weeks.
"It appears that the market may have entered into a new
stage of needing direction. It doesn't seem that the worries
over a virus resurgence are enough to truly start forming a down
leg of a W-shaped recovery," said JJ Kinahan, chief market
strategist at TD Ameritrade.
"But without some new catalyst to give market participants
some optimism, stocks might not be able to move much higher
either."
Spikes in novel U.S. coronavirus cases will likely trigger
closures in some places but not a nationwide shutdown, White
House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said, as a number of states
posted a record rise in infections. Meanwhile, data showed the number of Americans filing claims
for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week
likely as hiring by reopening businesses is being partially
offset by a second wave of layoffs. The resurgence in virus cases across the United States
threatened to halt a Wall Street rally that was powered by a
raft of global stimulus since late March.
After coming within 5% of its record high in early June, the
benchmark S&P 500 has lost nearly 6% in the past two weeks and
analysts cautioned further declines amid worsening economic
forecasts.
At 10:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 1.73 points, or 0.01%, at 25,444.21, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 0.99 points, or 0.03%, at 3,049.34. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 0.56 points, or 0.01%, at 9,908.61.
Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index .VIX ,
rose to 34.52 points.
The S&P banks subindex .SPXBK rose 1.7% as U.S. banking
regulators unveiled a pair of rules that will make life easier
for large banks with complex trading and investment portfolios.
After markets close, the Federal Reserve will release the
stress test results for the lenders.
The energy sector .SPNY gained about 0.9%, as oil prices
recovered. O/R
Utilities .SPLRCU and industrials .SPLRCI posted the
steepest declines among major S&P sectors.
Walt Disney Co DIS.N fell 2% after it delayed the
reopening of theme parks due to the health crisis. A report also
said the company was considering postponing the July 24 release
of "Mulan". Boeing Co BA.N tumbled 2.4% as rival Airbus AIR.PA
reached a crucial jetliner production target and smoothed recent
industrial problems. Berenberg also reduced its rating on the U.S. planemaker's
shares to "sell", noting elevated near-term risks linked to the
pandemic, the pace of recovery in air travel and uncertainty
related to production rates. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.19-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a
1.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and seven new lows.