US STOCKS-Wall Street flirts with correction amid pandemic fears

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* U.S. stocks eye steepest weekly fall since 2008
* New infections increase outside China
* Microsoft warns of hit to PC business from outbreak
* GS sees no earnings growth for U.S. companies in 2020
* Indexes down: Dow 1.06%, S&P 0.97%, Nasdaq 1.28%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Wall street's main indexes tumbled for
the sixth straight session on Thursday, reaching a territory
that could mark a nosedive from record highs last week amid a
global spread of coronavirus that intensified fears about growth
and earnings.
While U.S. stocks had pared losses in early afternoon
trading, the S&P 500 .SPX fell as much as 11.2% from its
record closing high hit on Feb. 19 and the Nasdaq .IXIC
dropped 12.2% from its own peak.
The Dow Jones Industrials .DJI declined 12.1% from its
Feb. 12 closing high at session lows. If the indexes end at
these levels, it would confirm a correction.
The indexes were set for their steepest weekly pullback
since the global financial crisis, as new infections reported
around the world surpassed those in mainland China. battling the epidemics from Iran to Australia
shut schools, canceled big events and stocked up on medical
supplies. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention confirmed an infection in California in a person who
reportedly did not have relevant travel history or exposure to
another known patient. "It's not a China thing, it's becoming more global ... in
terms of the spread of the virus and its economic impact," said
Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at Robert W. Baird in
Milwaukee.
"There's a lot of uncertainty right now about where that
impact lands ... it's also possible that forecasts are
over-reacting to the downside."
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O dropped 2.6% after it warned of
weakness in PC business due to a hit to its supply chain from
the coronavirus, echoing similar statements from Apple Inc
AAPL.O and HP HPQ.N . Industry analysts and economists continued to sound the
alarm as they assessed the fallout of the outbreak, with Goldman
Sachs saying U.S. firms will generate no earnings growth in
2020. At 1:17 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 285.48 points, or 1.06%, at 26,672.11, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 30.33 points, or 0.97%, at 3,086.06. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 115.31 points, or 1.28%, at 8,865.46.
All of the 11 S&P sectors were trading lower with technology
.SPLRCT , financials .SPSY , energy .SPNY and real estate
.SPLRCR sectors losing more than 1%.
The NYSE Arca Airline index .XAL dropped 2% on fears about
travel disruptions beyond China, while the Philadelphia SE
Semiconductor index .SOX , comprised of China-exposed stocks,
fell 1.5%.
Bucking the trend, 3M Co MMM.N rose 4% after an analyst
upgraded the stock, citing possible benefit from higher sales of
respirator masks during the outbreak.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.69-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.26-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and 97 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 23 new highs and 442 new lows.