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* Energy stocks set for biggest gain in nearly 7 weeks
* IBM rises on quarterly profit beat
* Coca-Cola up after signaling demand recovery
* Dow up 1.13%, S&P rises 0.50%, Nasdaq down 0.49%
(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow indexes rose on
Tuesday as investors poured into economically sensitive sectors
on bets that fiscal stimulus would revive a pandemic-battered
economy, with a slate of positive earnings reports also helping
the sentiment.
Financials .SPSY , industrials .SPLRCI and energy .SPNY
provided the biggest boost to the S&P 500 and the Dow. The
energy sector jumped 6.4% on prospects of higher demand for
fuel. O/R
The Nasdaq slipped after hitting an intraday record high
earlier in the session, as shares of high-profile companies
including Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O retreated.
U.S. lawmakers and White House officials are negotiating a
new coronavirus aid legislation amid a looming expiration of
additional unemployment assistance that would leave tens of
millions of Americans without an income. Overnight, European Union leaders agreed on a historic
coronavirus relief plan for the bloc. "The big stimulus package that the European Union decided to
do is definitely putting a bid under all equities worldwide
including the U.S.," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment
officer at Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North
Carolina.
"The vaccine story has been very positive for the last
couple days and that's part of the optimism on moving a little
bit more towards cyclicals."
Promising early data from trials of three potential vaccines
has helped the S&P 500 rise about 1% on the year. The Dow is
still down about 6% in 2020 while the Nasdaq has climbed 19%.
With the second quarter expected to see the worst of the
pandemic's hit on profits, investors are more focused on hints
on how long Corporate America would take to bounce back.
International Business Machines Corp IBM.N gained 0.8%
after it signaled higher demand in its cloud computing business,
as large corporations accelerate their digital shift.
Coca-Cola Co KO.N rose 2.4% as it said demand for its
sodas were improving after the "most challenging" quarter for
the year. "Commentary on earnings call has been really important to
investment communities, confirming the recovery story that's
seen in the broad (economic) data applied to individual
businesses, like Coca Cola," said Matt Stucky, portfolio
manager, equities, at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
At 12:47 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 302.71 points, or 1.13%, at 26,983.58 and the S&P 500
.SPX was up 16.15 points, or 0.50%, at 3,267.99. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 52.42 points, or 0.49%, at 10,714.67.
Lockheed Martin Corp LMT.N rose 2.9% as the U.S. weapons
supplier raised its full-year profit and revenue forecasts,
driven by higher quarterly sales in its aeronautics unit that
makes the F-35 fighter jet. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.26-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.83-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 43 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 115 new highs and nine new lows.
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S&P 500 is about 4% from it's Feb.19 record close https://tmsnrt.rs/2OIutm1
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