Healthcare stocks drag on Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks drifted lower on Wednesday on losses by healthcare and energy stocks, offsetting strong gains by blue chips Apple Inc and Morgan Stanley.

Healthcare shares pulled down the market as Gilead Sciences Inc dipped 10.5 percent to $40.35 a day after cutting its full-year sales outlook.

The S&P health care sector <.GSPA> fell more than 1 percent, with Abbott Laboratories down 2 percent to $52 after it trimmed its current-year forecast.

"There is a rotation of money flow from healthcare stocks to technology, supported by strong earnings from the sector, including Apple," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 12.39 points, or 0.11 percent, at 11,104.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 3.37 points, or 0.28 percent, at 1,203.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 6.44 points, or 0.26 percent, at 2,493.87.

Drugmaker Merck & Co fell more than 2 percent to $35.33, one of the top decliners on the Dow.

Morgan Stanley jumped 4.2 percent to $31.74 after recording better-than-expected profit on strong fixed income trading. The KBW Banks index <.BKX> advanced 1.3 percent.

Apple shares rose nearly 6 percent to $258.85 one day after it posted quarterly results that crushed expectations on record iPhone sales and forecast for strong revenue growth.

McDonald's Corp also reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as its coffee business boosted U.S. sales, and the hamburger chain said its global sales momentum was continuing into April. The stock was up 0.2 percent at $70.62.

U.S. crude oil futures turned lower after government oil inventory data showed crude stockpiles rose against a forecast for a slight drop. Oil fell 0.6 percent to $83.38 a barrel and the S&P energy sector <.GSPE> index dipped 0.5 percent.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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