US STOCKS-S&P, Nasdaq close at record highs on optimism about Biden stimulus plan

* U.S. weekly jobless claims at elevated levels
* Growth stocks outperform value names
* United Airlines slips on fourth straight quarterly loss

(Adds comment, updates prices to market close)
By Echo Wang
Jan 21 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at record
highs on Thursday, propelled by optimism about more pandemic
relief under the Biden administration to support the economy
after data showed a tepid labor market recovery.
The number of Americans filing new applications for
unemployment benefits dipped to 900,000 last week but still
remained stubbornly high as the COVID-19 pandemic tears through
the nation, raising the risk that the economy will shed jobs for
a second straight month in January. other data showed the housing and manufacturing sectors
as areas of strength to help buttress the economy.
"We've had a very strong momentum going into this year and
coming into the Biden administration... because of prospects of
a bigger stimulus check and more spending in general," said
Mohannad Aama, managing director at Beam Capital Management LLC
in New York.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
12.37 points, or 0.04%, to 31,176.01, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
1.23 points, or 0.03%, to 3,853.08 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 73.67 points, or 0.55%, to 13,530.92.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC advanced, boosted by a jump in
shares of megacap stocks such as Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Apple
Inc AAPL.O and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O ahead of their earnings
reports in the coming weeks.
It follows Netflix Inc's NFLX.O blowout results on
Wednesday that revitalized the "stay-at-home" beneficiaries,
adding $262 billion in overall market capitalization to the
FAANG group of stocks.
"Given the possible surge in COVID cases, investors are
going to go back to the old playbook that worked well at similar
times last year... (The) technology sector is performing well
and (so is) anything related to working from home," Aama added.
In a reversal of the trend earlier this month, the Russell
1000 growth index .RLG , which includes technology stocks, is
this week far outperforming the Russell 1000 value index .RLV ,
which is heavily comprised of cyclical stocks such as financials
and energy.
President Joe Biden has launched several initiatives during
his initial days in office, including ramping up testing and
vaccine rollouts. Technology .SPLRCT , consumer discretionary .SPLRCD and
communication services .SPLRCL which includes Alphabet and
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), were the only S&P sectors in green.
Energy .SPNY was the biggest drag among 11 major S&P
sectors, following news Biden revoked the Keystone XL oil
pipeline project's presidential permit. With valuations near a 20-year high, corporate results could
present an important test of whether the stock market rally has
run ahead of fundamentals. Earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to rise by 24% in
2021 after falling 15% in 2020, according to Refinitiv data as
of Jan. 15.
United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.O dropped after posting a
fourth straight quarterly loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic but
said it aims to cut about $2 billion of annual costs through
2023. Ford Motor Co F.N jumped extending gains for a second
straight day after Deutsche Bank raised its price target on the
U.S. automaker's stock. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
GRAPHIC-Jobless claims https://tmsnrt.rs/2KAu72t
U.S. labor market recovery fading; housing, factories underpin
economy ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>