US STOCKS-Wall St slips on rising coronavirus cases, Tesla drags Nasdaq lower

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* Apple gains on launch of AirPods Max
* U.S. FDA staff backs Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine data
* Tesla launches $5 bln share sale
* Indexes down: Dow 0.01%, S&P 500 0.16%, Nasdaq 0.30%

(Updates to open)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow fell on Tuesday as
surging COVID-19 cases and strict restrictions in California
threatened to further weigh on an already stalling economic
recovery, while losses in Tesla pulled the Nasdaq off its record
high.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sub-indexes were lower, with the
utilities sector .SPLRCU leading declines. Energy shares
.SPNY recovered slightly from the previous session's steep
losses, even as crude prices remained under pressure.
Most residents in California, the nation's most populous
state, faced new restrictions on Monday after record coronavirus
case numbers and hospitalizations, while officials in New York
warned similar restrictions could come into effect soon.
Nationwide, COVID-19 infections are at their peak, with an
average of 193,863 new cases reported each day over the past
week, according to a Reuters tally of official data, and health
officials warned that the worst is yet to come. "People are coming to the realization that we are still in a
tough place with the virus and the economy isn't as strong as it
was in the early part of the summer, while we are still waiting
on stimulus," said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at
Dakota Wealth in New York.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O slipped 1.9% and was one of the top drags
on the tech-skewed Nasdaq .IXIC after the electric-car maker
unveiled a $5 billion capital raise, its second such move in
three months. Losses on the index were limited by Apple Inc AAPL.O , its
largest constituent, after the company unveiled its new AirPods
Max, a set of wireless over-ear headphones, in a measure likely
to boost sales over the December holiday period. Investors are closely watching whether policymakers will be
able to clinch an agreement on a long-awaited coronavirus relief
bill and a $1.4 trillion spending bill, with Friday eyed as a
deadline to avoid a government shutdown. The U.S. Congress will vote this week on a one-week stopgap
funding bill to provide more time for lawmakers to reach a deal
on both spending and pandemic relief.
"It also appears that whatever stimulus package gets
announced, it is not going to be quite enough, maybe not large
enough to satisfy the market," Dakota Wealth's Pavlik added.
At 10:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 0.95 points, or 0.01%, at 30,068.84, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 5.73 points, or 0.16%, at 3,686.23, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 37.55 points, or 0.30%, at 12,482.39.
Positive developments related to the COVID-19 vaccine have
in the recent weeks helped investors look past the surge in
infections and raise bets on a steady economic recovery next
year.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N rose 1.8% as it cleared the next hurdle
in the race to get its COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency
use, after the U.S. health regulator released documents raising
no new safety or efficacy issues. Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N gained 1.4% after the company said
it could obtain late-stage trial results of a single-dose
COVID-19 vaccine it is developing, earlier than expected.
The S&P index recorded 31 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 122 new highs and six new lows.