REFILE-US STOCKS-Wall St kicks off 2020 at record levels on China stimulus, trade hopes

(Corrects to "Microsoft Corp" from "Microsoft Inc" in paragraph
9)
* China cuts banks' reserve ratios again to spur economy
* U.S. weekly jobless claims fall
* Hanesbrands slips after report of Wells Fargo downgrade
* Indexes up: Dow 0.59%, S&P 0.35%, Nasdaq 0.69%

By Manas Mishra
Jan 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks extended their rally into the
new year, with all three major indexes hitting record highs on
Thursday, as fresh stimulus from Beijing to prop up its economy
added to optimism fueled by easing trade tensions and an
improving global outlook.
China's central bank said on Wednesday it would cut the
amount of cash that all banks must hold as reserves, the eighth
such cut since early 2018, injecting fresh stimulus into the
economy, while also boosting global markets. MKTS/GLOB
The benchmark S&P 500 has hit intraday record high in 11 of
14 sessions. It ended higher on Tuesday after President Donald
Trump said an initial U.S.-China trade pact would be signed on
Jan. 15. Trump also said he would later travel to Beijing to
begin talks on the next phase. "In general, there isn't a lot of negativity among
investors," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane
Investments, New Vernon, New Jersey.
U.S. presidential elections will take center stage as the
year progresses but, for now, there is no major reason for
investors to sell stocks, Meckler said.
At 11:19 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 169.27 points, or 0.59%, at 28,707.71, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 11.28 points, or 0.35%, at 3,242.06. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 61.70 points, or 0.69%, at 9,034.31.
Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed 2019 with their
biggest annual percentage gains since 2013, while the Dow
notched its biggest yearly percentage gain since 2017.
Latest data from the U.S. Labor Department showed that the
number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits edged
lower last week, a positive signal for the U.S. labor market
amid recent signs that new claims may be trending slightly
higher. The tech sector .SPLRCT was the biggest gainer among the
11 major S&P sectors, with Apple Inc AAPL.O and Microsoft Corp
MSFT.O providing the biggest boost.
Traditionally defensive groups such as utilities .SPLRCU ,
real estate .SPLRCR and consumer staples .SPLRCS fell
between 0.5% and 1%.
Among individual decliners, Hanesbrands Inc HBI.N slipped
1.4% after a report that Wells Fargo has downgraded the apparel
maker's shares to "underweight". Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.25-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a
1.08-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 43 new 52-week highs and one new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 94 new highs and eight new lows.