US STOCKS-U.S. stocks advance as some states reopen for business

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* Tesla gains on reports of California factory reopening
* Financials lead gainers as U.S. Treasury yields climb
* WTI Crude prices tumble ~23%
* Indexes up: Dow 1.51%, S&P 1.47%, Nasdaq 1.11%

(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street gained more than
1% on Monday at the onset of a hectic earnings week, as
investors turned a hopeful eye toward several U.S. states that
are relaxing shutdown restrictions put in place to curb the
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All three major U.S. stock averages advanced, and are all
now within 20% of their record closing highs reached in
February, with the benchmark S&P 500 on track for its best month
since 1987, after trillions of stimulus dollars helped U.S.
equities claw back much of the ground lost since the coronavirus
crisis brought the economy to a grinding halt.
But some analysts believe gains may be limited unless there
is progress in finding treatments for the disease. Several states have begun easing stay-at-home restrictions,
in efforts to revive economies and get Americans back to work
following crushing job losses. "In general, I think the steps state governors are taking
are the right ones and are measured and careful," said Oliver
Pursche, independent asset adviser in New York.
But Pursche cautioned against expecting a quick, 'v-shaped'
economic recovery.
"If we start reopening tomorrow and there's no big second
wave of infections, I still think it's 6 to 12 months at least
until everything is back to normal," Pursche said. "It's much
easier to hit 'stop' on an economy than it is to press 'start.'"
Economists expect first-quarter U.S. GDP to have shrunk at a
4% annualized rate when the Commerce Department releases its
report on Wednesday.
Market participants will also pay close attention to the
U.S. Federal Reserve when it concludes its monetary policy
meeting on Wednesday.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
.DJI rose 358.51 points, or 1.51%, to 24,133.78, the S&P 500
.SPX gained 41.74 points, or 1.47%, to 2,878.48 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC added 95.64 points, or 1.11%, to 8,730.16.
All 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 closed higher, with
financials .SPSY , helped by rising U.S. Treasury yields,
posting the largest gains. A spate of high-profile earnings is expected this week,
including Caterpillar Inc CAT.N , Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O ,
Boeing Co BA.N , Facebook Inc FB.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O ,
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and others.
Analysts expect first-quarter S&P 500 earnings to have
fallen 15% from last year, a dramatic reversal from the 6.3%
year-on-year growth forecast at the start of the year, according
to Refinitiv data.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of health insurers
seeking Obamacare payments from the government. The S&P 1500
Managed Care index .SPCOMHMO was up 1.1%. Tesla Inc TSLA.O jumped 10.1% and gave the Nasdaq its
biggest boost after a report said the company was calling some
workers back to its California vehicle-assembly plant next week.
Crude oil prices, under pressure amid a supply glut and
plunging demand, plummeted 23.3%. O/R
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
3.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.66-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and no new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 65 new highs and eight new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.64 billion shares, compared
with the 12.35 billion average over the last 20 trading days.