US STOCKS-Nasdaq touches record high; Dow, S&P 500 lifted by J&J

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* J&J targets COVID-19 late-stage trial results by January
* U.S. FDA staff backs Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine data
* Tesla falls on launching $5 bln share sale
* Indexes up: Dow 0.29%, S&P 500 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.05%

(Updates prices, adds comments)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow reversed course to
rise on Tuesday, led by drugmaker Johnson & Johnson following
encouraging news on its COVID-19 vaccine, while the Nasdaq hit a
record high.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N gained 1.9% after the company said
it could obtain late-stage trial results of a single-dose
COVID-19 vaccine it is developing, earlier than expected.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N also rose 3.2% 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. Wall Street's main indexes have traded in a tight range for
most of the session so far, as investors awaited more stimulus
in the face of surging COVID-19 cases and strict restrictions in
California. "When you are in a market where there is so much near-term
negative news because of the virus, but so much future positive
news because of the vaccine ... you do get into this tug of
war," said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane Investments in
New Jersey.
"We are at that equilibrium point where there are as many
optimists as pessimists about where the market is headed in
2021"
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.
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.
Analysts now expect investor attention to gradually shift
from vaccine approvals to their global distribution.
"I don't know if investors are recognizing how long the
process is going to take, but the market tends to look out a
little more than the very near term. Right now it is predicting
that there will be a good distribution system in place some time
by the middle of next year," Meckler said.
At 12:21 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 88.62 points, or 0.29%, at 30,158.41, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 5.21 points, or 0.14%, at 3,697.17 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 5.85 points, or 0.05%, at 12,525.79.
Boeing Co BA.N slipped 0.6% after company data showed the
planemaker lost another 63 orders for its newly ungrounded 737
MAX jet in November. Tesla Inc TSLA.O fell 1.9% after the electric-car maker
unveiled a $5 billion capital raise, its second such move in
three months. Drug developer Moderna Inc MRNA.O climbed 4.2%, after
Switzerland increased its confirmed orders for its COVID-19
vaccine doses to 7.5 million from 4.5 million. Energy shares .SPNY recovered some of the previous
session's losses, even as crude prices remained under pressure.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.66-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.