US STOCKS-S&P 500 notches record high for second day after Target, Lowe's results beat

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* S&P 500 sets intraday high for second consecutive session
* Nasdaq hits record high for a third straight day
* Momenta soars after $6.5 bln buyout deal with J&J
* Target, Lowe's gain after better-than-expected results
* Indexes: Dow rises 0.36%, S&P up 0.14%, Nasdaq dips 0.08%

(Updates to market open)
By Medha Singh
Aug 19 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq scaled record
highs on Wednesday as results from retailers Target and Lowe's
trounced estimates, a day after the S&P 500 completed its
fastest recovery ever from a bear market.
Big-box chain Target Corp TGT.N jumped 9.5% after posting
its best quarterly comparable sales growth and online revenue
that nearly tripled. Home improvement chain Lowe's Companies Inc LOW.N rose
1.4% after beating estimates for quarterly same-store sales as
it benefited from a surge in demand for its products from
consumers stuck indoors. Lowe's larger rival Home Depot Inc HD.N and retail
behemoth Walmart Inc WMT.N reported similar results on
Tuesday.
However, the broader S&P 500 retailing index .SPXRT fell
0.4%, dragged down by a 0.9% fall in Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O .
"These earnings are reflecting the reopening of the economy
and the stimulus cheques," said Peter Cardillo, chief market
economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
"This quarter might be a different story, unless you get
stimulus cheques to come within the next few weeks, but that
doesn't seem feasible at this time."
Hopes for another round of fiscal coronavirus aid, after
enhanced unemployment benefits expired last month, have been
driving U.S. stocks higher. But Democrats and Republicans remain
divided on key issues of the bill.
The S&P 500 closed at a record high on Tuesday, completing a
recovery from a dramatic pandemic-led sell-off. The Dow is still
nearly 5% below February's record closing high.
"Either you read this as a sign that the market could go a
lot higher as we enter a cyclical bull market with lots of cash
sitting on the sidelines still to pour into value," said Neil
Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com in London.
"Or you worry that this is a Fed-fueled tech bubble with
forward earnings multiples looking enormously stretched."
The technology sector .SPLRCT provided the biggest boost
to the benchmark index on Wednesday.
While trillions of dollars in fiscal and monetary support
and a rally in tech-related shares have helped the benchmark
surge about 55% from its March lows, the country's battered
economy is still far from the pre-pandemic levels.
Minutes from Federal Reserve's meeting, set for release at 2
p.m. ET (1800 GMT), could offer clues into the central bank's
plans for September.
At 9:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 98.69 points, or 0.36%, at 27,876.76, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 4.75 points, or 0.14%, at 3,394.53. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was down 8.64 points, or 0.08%, at 11,202.21.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N said it would buy Momenta
Pharmaceuticals Inc MNTA.O for about $6.5 billion in cash to
bolster its portfolio of treatments for autoimmune diseases.
Shares of Momenta soared 69%. Gilead Sciences Inc GILD.O fell 2.5% after the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration refused to approve its experimental
treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in its current form.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.27-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.28-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and three new lows.