US STOCKS-S&P 500 inches toward record high on tech boost

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* Tesla up after announcing stock split
* Moderna jumps after $1.5-bln U.S. contract
* Benchmark S&P 500 about 0.5% below record high
* Indexes up: Dow 0.99%, S&P 1.32%, Nasdaq 1.86%

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By Medha Singh and Ambar Warrick
Aug 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes jumped on
Wednesday, with the S&P 500 crawling towards a record high in a
broad rally led by tech stocks, although some investors were
cautious following a stalemate over the new coronavirus relief
bill.
Heavyweights Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Amazon.com Inc
AMZN.O and Apple Inc AAPL.O were some of the top boosts to
the S&P 500.
All major S&P sectors climbed, with technology .SPLRCT ,
communication services .SPLRCL and health .SPXHC leading
percentage gains.
The S&P 500 is about 0.5% below its intraday record high of
3,393.52. The benchmark index slipped after seven straight days
of gains on Tuesday after coming within 0.4% of its peak,
powered by historic fiscal and monetary stimulus and signs of a
nascent economic recovery.
"We're seeing buyers show up very quickly, any chance they
get when the market declines. To me, that's a very bullish
sign," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments
in New York.
The Nasdaq was the first of the three major indexes to
bounce back to an all-time high in June. The Dow is about 6%
below its February peak.
With a better-than-feared second-quarter earnings season
largely over, investors are preparing for the risk of a
contested U.S. presidential election in the fall.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday picked Senator
Kamala Harris as his choice for vice president.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the
White House and top Democrats in Congress may not be able to
reach a deal on coronavirus aid, marking a fifth day without
talks, as the stalemate blocked relief to tens of millions of
Americans. "We know a (stimulus) deal is going to get done. The
question is what does that deal look like. Once we start getting
certainty over that, that's when these stocks take off," Sarhan
added.
At 10:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 273.31 points, or 0.99%, at 27,960.22, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 44.11 points, or 1.32%, at 3,377.80. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 200.03 points, or 1.86%, at 10,982.86.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O jumped 8.4%, providing the biggest lift
to Nasdaq, as it announced a five-for-one stock split in an
attempt to make its shares more accessible to employees and
investors. Latest data showed U.S. consumer prices increased
more-than-expected in July, but high unemployment is likely to
keep inflation under control, allowing the Federal Reserve to
continue pumping money into the economy. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.52-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.79-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 20 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 63 new highs and 14 new lows.