US STOCKS-Wall St supported by Apple, stimulus bets as Fed takes center stage

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* Apple rises on report of higher iPhone production in 2021
* Technology sector seen resilient through pandemic -
analyst
* S&P 500 materials sector nears record high
* Indexes up: Dow 0.64%, S&P 500 0.70%, Nasdaq 0.58%

(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose on Tuesday as
progress toward a massive government stimulus bill kept spirits
high, while investors hoped for continued signals of easy
monetary policy from the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the
year.
Apple Inc AAPL.O was the top boost to all three U.S.
benchmarks, rising 3.5% to a more than three-month high after a
report said it plans to increase iPhone production by 30% in the
first half of 2021. Markets saw a recent spike in coronavirus infections and
deaths as pushing the case for the quick passing of a COVID-19
stimulus bill, with economically sensitive sectors such as
consumer discretionary .SPLRCD , materials .SPLRCM and
utilities .SPLRCU gaining the most.
The S&P 500 materials sector .SPLRCM was trading within
spitting distance of a record high.
Talks in Congress were underway late on Monday to agree on a
bill to avert a government shutdown, with Democrat and
Republican leaders appearing more upbeat about including a fresh
round of coronavirus aid, the first new relief measure since
April. The Fed is also expected to signal easy monetary policy for
the foreseeable future in its two-day meeting starting Tuesday.
The recent coronavirus vaccine roll-out is expected to improve
the central bank's 2021 outlook. At 12:06 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 190.68 points, or 0.64%, at 30,052.23, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 25.63 points, or 0.70%, at 3,673.12. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 72.32 points, or 0.58%, at 12,512.36.
Technology stocks .SPLRCT added 0.9%. The sector has
outperformed its peers through the pandemic due to its perceived
resilience to virus-related disruptions.
"The market likes to go to tech when it is afraid the
economy may stall because of a rise in infections and
shutdowns," said Christopher Grisanti, chief equity strategist
at MAI Capital Management.
Increased liquidity and ultra-low lending rates have seen
investors flocking to stocks for returns through the COVID-19
pandemic, while recent optimism over a vaccine pushed the S&P
500 to a series of record highs last week.
"We remain overweight on equities and have added selective
exposure to more cyclically oriented sectors, including
industrials, materials, semiconductors, housing and consumer
durables," Erin Browne and Geraldine Sundstrom, managing
directors at investment manager PIMCO wrote in a note.
Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N rose 3.8% after the company said it
would buy Prevail Therapeutics Inc PRVL.O in a deal
potentially valued at $1.04 billion, to expand its presence in
the lucrative field of gene therapy. Prevail's shares surged
about 83.0%. Moderna Inc's MRNA.O shares fell 4.8%, even as U.S. Food
and Drug Administration staff members did not raise any new
concerns over data on the drugmaker's COVID-19 vaccine. A report
said the vaccine will gain emergency use approval on Friday.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2.59-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.82-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 11 new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 116 new highs and 17 new lows.