US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow rise as fiscal stimulus hopes offset Sino-U.S. worries

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* Tesla, Microsoft rise ahead of results
* Snap Inc falls after disappointing user growth forecast
* HCA Healthcare climbs after better-than-expected revenue
* Dow up 0.24%, S&P rises 0.18%, Nasdaq down 0.27%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 22 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow advanced on
Wednesday as signs of another round of government stimulus for
the virus-stricken U.S. economy countered worries over worsening
ties between the United States and China.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O , the world's most valuable carmaker, rose
0.8% and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O gained 0.9% in the run up to
their quarterly results due after markets close.
A largely upbeat start to the earnings season, hopes for an
eventual COVID-19 vaccine and an expected coronavirus relief
economic package have brought the benchmark S&P 500 within 4%
below its record February closing high.
Further lifting the mood, a report said the White House and
Senate Republicans are discussing a deal to temporarily extend
coronavirus-related unemployment benefits, as they appear
unlikely to reach a broader stimulus agreement before the aid
lapses. "The attention of equities right now is on what another
stimulus bill will look like and the underlying health of the
economy in terms of employment and housing," said Willie
Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird in Milwaukee.
U.S. home sales increased by the most on record in June,
lifting the Philadelphia SE Housing index .HGX by 2.8%.
Earlier on Wednesday, futures had taken a hit after the
United States told China to close its consulate in Houston,
citing a need to protect American intellectual property and
information, deepening a deterioration in bilateral relations. A
source said Beijing was considering shutting down the U.S.
consulate in Wuhan. At 1:04 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 65.27 points, or 0.24%, at 26,905.67 and the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 8.23 points, or 0.25%, at 3,265.53. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was down 5.13 points, or 0.05%, at 10,675.24.
The real estate .SPLRCR and utilities .SPLRCU sectors
rose more than 1%, the most among major S&P sectors, while
financials .SPSY and energy .SPNY underperformed.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N advanced 4% as the drugmaker and German
biotech firm BioNTech SE 22UAy.F said they would get $1.95
billion from the U.S. government to produce and deliver 100
million doses of their COVID-19 vaccine candidate. Hospital operator HCA Healthcare Inc HCA.N surged 10.7%
after reporting better-than-expected quarterly revenue. Thermo
Fisher Scientific Inc TMO.N jumped 2.4% after the scientific
instruments maker beat second-quarter results.
Snap Inc SNAP.N declined 6.4% as it forecast fewer
current-quarter users than estimates and said the initial lift
in user growth at the start of coronavirus-led lockdowns
dissipated faster than it expected. About 77.7% of the 75 S&P 500 firms that have reported so
far, have beaten a low bar for quarterly earnings estimates, per
IBES data from Refinitiv. Analysts expect earnings to decline
about 41.2% in the reported quarter.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.36-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 37 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 73 new highs and 10 new lows.