REFILE-US STOCKS-Wall Street advances on prospect of economic rebound

(Fixes typing error in sixth paragraph)
* Norwegian Cruise Line falls on extending trip suspensions
* Fed Chair Powell wraps up Congressional testimony
* Nasdaq within 0.5% June 10 record closing high
* Indexes up: Dow 0.24%, S&P 0.41%, Nasdaq 0.82%

By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street gained ground on
Wednesday as signs of economic recovery helped investors look
past spiking pandemic data and the potential of a new round of
economic lockdowns.
With all three major U.S. stock indexes on course to post
their fourth consecutive day of gains, the S&P 500 and the Dow
are now within about 7% and 11% of their respective record
closing highs reached in February.
Tech shares led the Nasdaq's more robust gain, and the index
was hovering within half a percentage point within its all-time
closing high reached on June 10.
An inexpensive, common steroid called dexamethasone can help
save critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to a clinical
trial in Britain, a development that prompted the World Health
Organization to update its treatment guidelines. Still, worries over a resurgence in the pandemic's spread
persist, as a record spike in new cases was reported in six U.S.
states and authorities in Beijing have ramped up mobility
restrictions in their efforts to contain a new COVID-19
outbreak. "The V-shaped (economic) recovery is possible," said Tim
Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in
New York. "But the pickup in infections we're seeing across the
sunbelt would likely negate a V-shaped recovery for a much more
gradual, U-shaped, or perhaps W-shaped if the infection rate
keeps accelerating."
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to wrap up
two days of congressional testimony, during which he pledged the
central bank will use its "full range of tools" to help that
recovery along.
On the economic front, while housing starts increased at a
slower-than-expected pace in May, building permits saw a more
robust rebound and applications for loans to purchase homes
surged last week to a near 11-1/2-year high last week, according
to separate reports from the U.S. Commerce Department and the
Mortgage Bankers Association. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 62.38 points,
or 0.24%, to 26,352.36, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 12.8 points,
or 0.41%, to 3,137.54 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
81.43 points, or 0.82%, to 9,977.29.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, eight were in the
black, with tech .SPLRCT and consumer discretionary .SPLRCD
seeing the largest percentage gains.
Oracle Corp ORCL.K dropped 3.7% after reporting
weaker-than-expected quarterly revenues as lockdowns led its
clients to delay purchases. Travel-related companies, battered particularly hard by
shutdowns, were in the red, with the S&P 1500 Airline index
sliding 1.6%.
Cruise operator Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N
extended the suspension of its voyages through September,
sending its stock down 7.2%.
Peers Carnival Corp CCL.N and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd
RCL.N dropped 5.3% and 7.0%, respectively.
Trading Hertz Global Holdings' HTZ.N shares were halted as
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission told the bankrupt
car rental firm it as problems with its new share issuance, the
agency's Chairman Jay Clayton told CNBC.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.10-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.15-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 102 new highs and four new lows.