US STOCKS-Wall St set for strong start to December on vaccine optimism

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* Pfizer-BioNTech seek EU emergency approval for COVID-19
vaccine
* China's Nov. factory activity growth hits decade high
* Zoom falls after warning of gross margin pressure
* Futures: Dow up 1.1%, S&P and Nasdaq rise 0.9%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Medha Singh
Dec 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to
open higher on Tuesday as better-than-expected factory data from
China and hopes that a COVID-19 vaccine will be rolled out
before the end of the year bolstered bets of a speedy economic
recovery.
Investors are closely following updates on a handful of
leading vaccine candidates as well as the start of global
shipments as drugmakers submit paperwork for regulatory
approvals.
Pfizer Inc PFE.N gained about 2.3% in premarket trade as
the drugmaker and Germany's BioNTech SE BNTX.O sought
emergency approval of their vaccine from the European regulator.
The partners are now neck-and-neck with rival Moderna
MRNA.O , which said on Monday it would ask the EU regulator to
recommend conditional approval for its shot.
"The market typically rallies in the last couple of months
of the year," said Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS
Lombard.
"There is more reason to be optimistic than pessimistic
looking past whatever disruptions occur near-term from the virus
because there is a vaccine coming and that is going to change
everything."
Investors overlooked a resurgence in infections in the
United States that has prompted state-wise restrictions, with
California considering new "stay-at-home" orders. Cruise operators Carnival Corp CCL.N , Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd RCL.N and carriers Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N and
United Airlines Holdings UAL.O rose between 2% and 5%.
Big U.S. banks, which are sensitive to the economic outlook,
gained between 1.4% and 2.1%.
The Dow .DJI wrapped up its best month in more than three
decades on Monday as breakthroughs in vaccine spurred a shift
toward sectors hardest-hit by virus induced shutdowns.
At 08:21 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 299 points,
or 1.01% and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 0.93%. Nasdaq 100
E-minis NQcv1 were up 0.89%.
China's manufacturing sector activity in November grew at
its fastest pace in a decade, a business survey showed. Several
other countries also reported sharp upticks in factory activity.
Later in the day, focus will shift to U.S. factory data as
well as remarks from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at a congressional hearing,
which is likely to highlight divisions over what more should be
done in response to the pandemic. Powell on Monday said that while the news on the vaccine
front is very positive, its impact on the economy will be
unclear until challenges such as vaccine production and mass
distribution are resolved. Among other stocks, Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM.O
dropped about 6.6% after the company warned its gross margins
would remain under pressure going into 2021. Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose about 4.5% after S&P Dow Jones
Indices said it would add one of Wall Street's most valuable
companies to the S&P 500 index all at once on Dec. 21.