US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs as vaccine cheer overshadows grim data

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* Boeing jumps on Ryanair's 737 MAX jet orders
* Jobless claims fall after rising for two straight weeks
* Goldman Sachs raises Tesla to "buy"
* Indexes up: Dow 0.6%, S&P 0.3%, Nasdaq 0.5%

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By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Medha Singh
Dec 3 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touched
all-time highs on Thursday as investors looked past bleak
economic data, while remaining focused on a COVID-19 vaccine,
with the blue-chip Dow getting a boost from Boeing shares.
Boeing Co BA.N jumped about 7% after budget airline
Ryanair RYA.I ordered 75 additional 737 MAX jets with a list
price of $9 billion, throwing a commercial lifeline to the
embattled U.S. planemaker. Tesla Inc's TSLA.O 4% gain underpinned the Nasdaq after
Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "buy" in the run-up to the
electric-car maker's addition to the S&P 500. Earlier in the day, data showed the number of Americans
filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell last week,
but remained extraordinarily high at 712,000, while a separate
survey showed U.S. services industry activity slowed to a
six-month low in November. "Markets are discounting the bad economic news and focusing
on a vaccine implementation plan ... they are optimistic that a
vaccine will bring a recovery in the second half of next year,"
said Mike Cornacchioli, chief investment strategist at Clarfeld
Citizens Private Wealth.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there was
some positive movement in congressional efforts to reach a
compromise on a new coronavirus aid bill but gave no hints on
when such a deal could be struck. At 11:38 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 180.08 points, or 0.60% to 30,063.87, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 9.03 points, or 0.25% to 3,678.04 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 58.22 points, or 0.47% to 12,407.61.
Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with the
energy sector .SPNY leading gains.
The communication services index .SPLRCL hit its highest
since its creation in 2018.
Progress in developing a working COVID-19 vaccine before the
end of the year has driven the Wall Street's main indexes to
record levels recently.
That also helped lift the S&P 1500 airlines index
.SPCOMAIR up 6%. Cruise operators Carnival Corp CCL.N jumped
8% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N surged 9%.
Cloud-security provider Zscaler Inc ZS.O surged 25% as it
reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and adjusted
profit.
Waddell & Reed Financial WDR.N surged 49%, extending gains
from the previous session, after Australia's Macquarie Group
MQG.AX announced a deal to buy the wealth manager for $1.7
billion. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.9-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and no new low while
the Nasdaq recorded 241 new highs and 10 new lows.