US STOCKS-S&P, Dow rise as weekly jobless claims dip; Nasdaq retreats

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* Pfizer, Merck rise on supply deals for COVID-19 treatments
* Jobless claims still remain at elevated levels
* Indexes: Dow up 0.64%, S&P up 0.46%, Nasdaq down 0.06%

(Updates to market open)
By Devik Jain and Ambar Warrick
Dec 23 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow rose on Wednesday
as jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week, while the Nasdaq
retreated from a record high close on losses in heavyweight
technology stocks.
The markets also appeared to have shrugged off a threat from
President Donald Trump to not sign an $892 billion coronavirus
relief bill, saying it should be amended to increase the amount
in the stimulus checks. While the Labor Department's data showed initial claims for
state unemployment benefits fell last week, they remained at
elevated levels due to restrictions to curb the spread of new
COVID-19 infections. Meanwhile, a separate report showed consumer spending fell
last month for the first time since April, due to weakness in
the job market.
"There's this conflict between the immediate term, where
economic conditions are likely to get worse, but longer term,
things should improve quite a bit. The stimulus also helps
bridge that gap," said Chuck Lieberman, chief investment officer
of Advisor Capital Management in New Jersey.
At 9:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 193.58 points, or 0.64%, at 30,209.09, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 16.83 points, or 0.46%, at 3,704.09. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was down 7.66 points, or 0.06%, at 12,800.26.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with energy
stocks .SPNY rising the most.
Microsoft MSFT.O , Paypal PYPL.O and Amazon.com AMZN.O
were among the biggest drags on the Nasdaq.
Concerns over a new variant of the coronavirus and weakening
economic data have weighed on Wall Street in recent sessions.
But technology stocks have consistently outperformed their
peers, thanks to the sector's perceived resilience to
virus-related disruptions.
Easy monetary policy, increased liquidity in the market and
positive COVID-19 vaccine data has set the main indexes for
strong annual gains, despite a rough start to the year.
Drugmaker Pfizer Inc PFE.N rose 1.7% after a deal to
supply the United States with 100 million additional doses of
its COVID-19 vaccine by July. Merck & Co Inc MRK.N added 0.8% following its own COVID-19
treatment agreement with the United States. Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc SUPN.O jumped 15.8% after its
experimental drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
met the main goal of a late-stage study in adults. Electric-truck maker Nikola Corp NKLA.O fell 10.1% after
it called off a deal to develop electric garbage trucks with
recycling and waste disposal firm Republic Services Inc RSG.N .
American Airlines Group AAL.O and United Airlines Holdings
UAL.O rose 2.2% and 3.2%, respectively, as they outlined plans
to bring back furloughed employees this month. The airline
industry is set to receive about $15 billion in government
support. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.83-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE, and by a 2.19-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 27 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 177 new highs and no new low.