US STOCKS-Wall St set to fall again as coronavirus spreads beyond China

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* DropBox jumps on reporting upbeat outlook, buybacks
* Deere gains after surprise rise in Q1 profit
* Fed officials, IHS Markit data in focus
* Futures down: Dow 0.33%, S&P 0.34%, Nasdaq 0.31%

(Adds comment, updates prices)
By Sruthi Shankar
Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower on
Friday as a spike in new coronavirus cases in China and
elsewhere sent investors scrambling for safer assets such as
gold and government bonds.
The risk-off mood was exacerbated by data showing Japan's
factory activity suffered its steepest contraction in seven
years in February, underlining the risk of a recession in the
world's third-largest economy as the outbreak takes a toll on
global growth. With massive disruptions in supplies from China, parts
shortages are hitting businesses as far away as the United
States.
U.S. stocks fell more than 1% at one point on Thursday, with
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Apple Inc AAPL.O taking the
biggest hit.
Beijing reported an uptick in cases of coronavirus on Friday
and South Korea reported 100 new cases that doubled its
infections, while more than 80 people have tested positive for
the virus in Japan. However, hopes that central banks across the globe will take
measures to counter a slowdown have cushioned global stocks and
kept the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX near all-time highs.
"The economy here in the United States is doing well and
people are worried about the next quarter earnings season and
what kind of impact the coronavirus is going to have," said
Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist at SlateStone Wealth
LLC in New York.
At 8:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 95 points,
or 0.33%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 11.5 points, or
0.34% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 29.75 points, or
0.31%.
Investors will keep an eye on IHS Markit's U.S.
manufacturing and services sector activity data for February,
due at 9:45 a.m. ET, to gauge the impact of coronavirus on
businesses.
A host of Federal Reserve officials including Dallas Fed's
Robert Kaplan and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester are set
to speak later in the day.
Traders are looking for signs on whether the Fed will cut
rates this year amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak denting
global growth. However, recent data has suggested U.S. economy
is showing no signs of losing steam. Among stocks, Dropbox Inc DBX.O jumped 12.5% in premarket
trading after it raised its outlook for operating margin, while
Deere & Co DE.N rose 6.1% after an unexpected rise in
first-quarter profit. Sprint Corp S.N climbed 6.4% as it announced new merger
terms with T-Mobile US TMUS.O that would reduce the stake of
major Sprint shareholder SoftBank. T-Mobile shares dipped 0.9%.