US STOCKS-S&P 500 stalls at record level, set for best August in 36 years

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* Tesla, Apple advance as stock split takes effect
* Aimmune Therapeutics soars on Nestle's $2 bln buyout offer
* Suitors for Tiktok U.S. slip as deal may need China nod
* Indexes: Dow down 0.49%, S&P slips 0.10%, Nasdaq up 0.30%

(Updates to market open)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Aug 31 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hovered near record highs on
Monday as bets on an economic revival due to prolonged central
bank support put the index on course for its best August in
decades.
The Federal Reserve's commitment to tolerate inflation and
keep interest rates low, positive developments in vaccines and
treatments for COVID-19 and a momentum-driven rally in
tech-focused stocks have helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit
consecutive all-time highs.
The Dow is within 3.5% of its record close on Feb. 12.
Trading in new entrants to the blue-chip index Salesforce.com
Inc CRM.N , Honeywell International Inc HON.N and Amgen Inc
AMGN.O was subdued.
Ousted companies Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N slipped 1.6%,
Pfizer Inc PFE.N dipped 0.3% and Raytheon Technologies Corp
RTX.N was marginally higher.
"There is a reallocation of assets from sectors that are not
performing, into sectors that are," said Stan Gregor, chief
executive officer of Summit Financial LLC in Parsippany, New
Jersey.
"Right now the euphoria is stay long on technology and
stay-at-home stocks."
Technology stocks .SPLRCT rose 0.3% on Monday and along
with utilities .SPLRCU were the only two major S&P sectors in
positive territory.
The three main indexes are also set for their fifth straight
monthly rise following March lows, with the S&P 500 looking at
its biggest percentage rise in August since 1984, even as
economic data pointed to an uneven recovery from the steep
downturn.
China data showing a solid pace of expansion in the services
sector this month lifted spirits at the start of the week. Focus
will now be on the August U.S. jobs report slated for Friday.
U.S. presidential campaigns are set to take center-stage in
the coming weeks with market volatility expected to spike ahead
of polling in November.
At 09:53 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was down 139.46 points, or 0.49%, at 28,514.41, the S&P 500
.SPX was down 3.65 points, or 0.10%, at 3,504.36. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 35.35 points, or 0.30%, at 11,730.98.
Among early movers, Aimmune Therapeutics Inc 's AIMT.O
shares more than doubled after Swiss food group Nestle SA
NESN.S offered to pay $2 billion for full ownership of the
peanut allergy treatment maker. Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 2.6%, while Tesla Inc TSLA.O
gained 3.6%, as their stocks became less costly after their
pre-announced stock splits took effect. Suitors for TikTok's U.S. assets, Microsoft Corp MSFT.O ,
Walmart Inc WMT.N and Oracle Corp ORCL.N , dropped between
0.6% and 2.4% as China's new rules around tech exports meant a
deal with ByteDance could need Beijing's approval. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.07-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.00-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 20 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 49 new highs and seven new lows.