US STOCKS-Upbeat economic data helps Wall Street hover near record levels

* Stocks set for fifth straight session of gains
* Netflix leads gains on S&P 500
* S&P touches fresh record high
* November manufacturing and housing data beat expectations
Indexes up: Dow 0.3%, S&P and Nasdaq 0.1%

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By Uday Sampath Kumar
Dec 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were near record levels on
Tuesday, following four straight sessions of gains, as investor
confidence in the U.S. economy was reinforced following upbeat
housing and manufacturing data.
The S&P 500 .SPX touched a record high for the fourth
straight session and was set to build on its 27% gain this year,
which was driven by expectations of a U.S.-China trade deal, a
dovish Federal Reserve and upbeat economic indicators.
Data from the Fed showed manufacturing output rose more than
expected in November, as General Motors' GM.N workers ending a
strike boosted automobile production. The rebound of U.S. manufacturing is lifting investor
sentiment, said Jeff Zipper, managing director of investments at
U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management in Florida.
"The path to least resistance seems to be up right now. Some
of that predicated on data and (trade) tensions being less bad
and that's helpful to the market."
Lower mortgage rates also helped U.S. homebuilding rise more
than expected last month, driving up shares of home improvement
chains Lowe's Cos Inc LOW.N and Home Depot Inc HD.N , which
was the biggest boost to the Dow Jones .DJI . Netflix Inc NFLX.O rose 3.5% and was the biggest gainer on
the S&P 500 after the streaming service provider said its growth
overseas was accelerating, on the back of its Asia-Pacific
business.
Financial stocks .SPSY , which are known to track the
health of the domestic economy rose 0.6%, and provided the
biggest boost to the S&P 500.
Apple Inc AAPL.O hit a fresh record high and also provided
a boost to Wall Street's major indexes.
At 12:50 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 78.33 points, or 0.28%, at 28,314.22, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 4.22 points, or 0.13%, at 3,195.67 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 5.45 points, or 0.06%, at 8,819.68.
Shares of Boeing Co BA.N , which said it would suspend
production of its 737 MAX jet, reversed course after early
losses.
While there is no major economic news due this week, a
historic vote in the U.S. House of Representatives that is
likely to result in the impeachment of President Donald Trump,
poses another risk for investment decisions in the run-up to the
2020 election.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.70-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 37 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 119 new highs and 41 new lows.