US STOCKS-S&P 500 rises as tech gains offset weak U.S. data

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Weekly jobless claims back over 1 million
* Nvidia dips as data center business results disappoint
* L Brands rises after posting a surprise profit
* Intel jumps after announcing $10 bln share buyback plan
* Indexes: Dow +0.04%, S&P 500 +0.12%, Nasdaq +0.72%

(Updates to afternoon)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq advanced
on Thursday, as gains in heavyweight tech stocks outweighed
downbeat data that affirmed the Federal Reserve's view of a
difficult road to economic recovery.
Gains in Apple Inc AAPL.O - the only publicly listed U.S.
company to cross the $2 trillion market value milestone -
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O underpinned
the three main indexes' gains as investors bet they would ride
out the economic crisis.
Stocks had opened lower after data showed jobless claims
rose unexpectedly back above the 1 million mark last week after
slipping below that level for the first time since the start of
the pandemic.
A separate set of data from the Philadelphia Fed showed a
business conditions index fell more than expected in August.
"It's a little disconcerting to get over the 1 million mark
in jobless claims, but this just indicates that it's not going
to be a straight line recovery," said Sam Stovall, chief
investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York.
Overall, he added, "The underlying fundamentals remain
strong and we are recovering from the pandemic."
The volatility in jobless claims followed the lapse of an
extra $600 weekly unemployment benefit at the end of July and
came as Democrats in Congress have failed to reach an agreement
with the White House on extending it.
Despite signs that parts of the economy are still far away
from pre-pandemic levels, the benchmark S&P 500 index completed
its fastest recovery from a bear market this week, joining the
Nasdaq in scaling new peaks. It also confirmed a bull market for
the S&P 500.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq retreated from record levels on
Wednesday after minutes from the Fed's latest policy meeting
gave a somber assessment of the U.S. economy as it grapples with
the pandemic, but ruled out, for now, more dovish easing policy
measures. In mid-afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI was up 0.04% at 27,702.84 points, while the S&P 500
.SPX gained 0.12% to 3,379.02.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.72% to 11,227.24.
CFRA's Stovall said that historically, stock bull markets on
average have lasted 37 months.
Economically sensitive financial .SPSY and energy .SPNY
sectors were some of the biggest percentage losers among the
major S&P sectors.
Nvidia Corp NVDA.O edged higher after posting better than
expected quarterly sales forecast. Intel Corp INTC.O rose 1.4% after announcing a $10 billion
share buyback plan.
L Brands Inc LB.N rose 4.2% after reporting a surprise
quarterly profit, boosted by strong demand for Bath & Body
Works' products as well as higher online sales of Victoria's
Secret lingerie. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.70-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.79-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 59 new highs and 24 new lows.