US STOCKS-Wall St closes higher as Yellen backs more stimulus

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* Tesla gains after Jefferies raises earnings estimates
* Yellen asks lawmakers to "act big" on stimulus
* GM jumps on Cruise deal with Microsoft

(Adds comment; updates prices to market close)
By Echo Wang
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on
Tuesday as U.S. Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen
advocated for a hefty fiscal relief package before lawmakers to
help the world's largest economy ride out a pandemic-driven
slump.
At her confirmation hearing, Yellen said the benefits of a
big package outweigh the costs of a higher debt burden.
President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn into office on
Wednesday, outlined a $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposal
last week to jump-start the economy and accelerate the
distribution of vaccines.
"Today it's really all about Janet Yellen, and the push that
she is taking for stimulus," said Thomas Martin, senior
portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in Atlanta, adding that
the focus on stimulus "sets an underpinning for the markets to
continue to move higher."
With earnings season underway, Bank of America BAC.N
initially rose as it also topped fourth-quarter profit estimates
and joined JPMorgan JPM.N , Citigroup Inc C.N and Wells Fargo
& Co WFC.N in releasing some cash reserves to cover for
coronavirus-driven loan losses, underscoring its confidence in
the economy. The stock pared gains however and was last about
flat. Big U.S. bank Goldman Sachs Group Inc's GS.N
fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, dwarfing estimates
after another blowout performance at its trading and
underwriting business, but its shares also gave up early gains.
Wall Street's main indexes rallied to record highs recently
on hopes of a speedy economic recovery fueled by a hefty fiscal
stimulus package and vaccine distribution.
Eight of 11 S&P sectors advanced, with economy-linked energy
.SPNY , leading the way higher.
The defensive utilities .SPLRCU , consumer staples
.SPLRCS and real estate .SPLRCR were the only ones in the
red.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
117.84 points, or 0.38%, to 30,932.1, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
30.63 points, or 0.81%, to 3,798.88 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 196.10 points, or 1.51%, to 13,194.60.
General Motors GM.N shares jumped as one of the best
performers on the S&P 500 after self-driving car marker Cruise,
which the automaker is a majority shareholder, said it would
partner with Microsoft MSFT.O to accelerate the
commercialization of self-driving vehicles. Tesla Inc TSLA.O shares rose after Jefferies raised its
earnings estimates ahead of the electric-car maker's
fourth-quarter results next week.
Boeing Co BA.N shares climbed as Canada said it would lift
a near two-year flight ban on its 737 MAX following two fatal
crashes involving the model while a final clearance from Europe
to resume flying the jet is expected next week.