US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq rise on vaccine hopes, tech boost

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* Nasdaq on track for record closing high
* Chevron slips after agreeing to buy Noble Energy for $5
bln
* Halliburton rises after quarterly results
* Pfizer up on securing UK supply deal for potential
vaccines
* Dow down 0.13%, S&P up 0.40%, Nasdaq rises 1.51%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Devik Jain and Medha Singh
July 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Monday as promising
early data on a host of COVID-19 vaccine candidates countered
fears over a surge in infections, while gains in technology
stocks put the Nasdaq on track for a record closing high.
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O jumped 5.6% and provided the top
boost to the tech-heavy index after two brokerages raised their
price targets on the stock. Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , which is
set to report quarterly results later this week, also rose 2.7%.
In contrast, the Dow was dragged down by industrial
companies 3M Co MMM.N and Boeing Co BA.N .
NYSE FANG+TM Index .NYFANG , which houses Facebook FB.O ,
Apple AAPL.O , Amazon, Netflix NFLX.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O ,
was up 2%.
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer PFE.N and German biotech firm
BioNTech BNTX.O reported additional data from their
experimental COVID-19 vaccine that showed it was safe and
induced an immune response in patients. Pfizer's shares rose
0.8%. In the United Kingdom, data showed an experimental vaccine
being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University against the
virus produced an immune response in early-stage clinical
trials, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of the
year. "Even though we had some good vaccine news, the Phase-3
trials for many of these things is the hardest part and is very
difficult to get through," said Elliott Savage, portfolio
manager of the YCG Enhanced Fund in Austin, Texas.
"At this point, the fiscal stimulus is the next thing on
investors' mind. If there were a big audacious kind of fiscal
stimulus package, then that could definitely cause the market to
move higher."
Congress is set to debate a new aid package this week with
some support programmes due to expire by the end of the month.
Record levels of new COVID-19 cases are also forcing many states
to back-pedal their reopening plans. Signs of progress on a potential coronavirus vaccine,
improving economic data and a relatively upbeat start to the
second-quarter earnings season helped the S&P 500 and the Dow
rise for three consecutive weeks.
The benchmark S&P 500 is now about 5% down from its Feb. 19
record close.
At 12:38 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 35.19 points, or 0.13%, at 26,636.76 and the S&P 500
.SPX was up 12.92 points, or 0.40%, at 3,237.65. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 158.18 points, or 1.51%, at 10,661.37.
Technology .SPLRCT , consumer discretionary .SPLRCD and
communication services .SPLRCS rose, while utilities .SPLRCU
and industrials .SPLRCI lagged the most.
Oilfield services giant Halliburton Co HAL.N rose 5.6% as
market analysts praised its better-than-expected free cash flow
and aggressive cost cutting. Noble Energy Inc's NBL.O shares gained 5.3% as Chevron
Corp CVX.N agreed to buy the Houston-based oil and gas
producer for $5 billion in an all-stock deal. Chevron fell 1.6%.
L3N2ER2FR
This week, Tesla Inc TSLA.O , Intel Corp INTC.O and
Honeywell International Inc HON.N are expected to report their
quarterly results.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.23-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and nearly advancers on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 37 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 104 new highs and 10 new lows.