US STOCKS-Wall Street climbs as defensive sectors jump

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Private payrolls increase by 428,000 in August
* Nvidia climbs as analysts cheer new gaming chip
* Indexes up: Dow 0.86%, S&P 0.85%, Nasdaq 0.25%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Sept 2 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday for the
ninth time in the past ten sessions although defensive sectors
took their turn to lead the charge after data showed U.S.
private payrolls expanded last month, but at a
slower-than-expected pace.
The blue-chip Dow is just about 2% below its all-time high
on Feb. 12.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, now more than 20% above its
pre-pandemic high, lagged on Wednesday as losses in high-flying
shares of Apple Inc AAPL.O , Tesla Inc TSLA.O and Zoom Video
Communications Inc ZM.O weighed.
"A handful of technology stocks have been a great place to
be over the last several months, but at some point you need to
kind of be on the lookout for other opportunities outside of
those concentrated names," said Adam Phillips, director of
portfolio strategy at EP Wealth Advisors in Torrance,
California.
Utilities .SPLRCU , consumer staples .SPLRCS and real
estate .SPRLCR , which have trailed the broader market this
year, posted some of the biggest percentage gains among major
S&P sectors.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have hit a series of record highs
recently on high demand for tech-focused stocks and massive
central bank support.
U.S. private payrolls increased last month from July,
according to the ADP report, but fell short of economists'
forecast. Focus will now be on the government's comprehensive
employment report which is slated for Friday. Investors are also hopeful that U.S. lawmakers would unveil
a new fiscal coronavirus relief bill in the coming days.
At 1:06 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 247.37 points, or 0.86%, at 28,893.03, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 30.14 points, or 0.85%, at 3,556.79. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 29.26 points, or 0.25%, at 11,968.92.
The Russell 1000 value index .RLV jumped 1.1%, while the
Russell 1000 growth index .RLG rose 0.4%.
Nvidia Corp NVDA.O , the best performing S&P 500
constituent this year, gained 3.7% after several brokerages
hiked their price targets on its shares, following the
announcement of powerful gaming chips in collaboration with
Micron Technology Inc MU.O and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
005930.KS .
Market experts have warned that at these elevated levels,
Wall Street's indexes are ripe for a pullback, especially in the
weeks leading up to the election in November. President Donald Trump has overtaken Democratic rival Joe
Biden to stand as the favorite to win the election on
Europe-based betting exchange Betfair, while in a Reuters/Ipsos
national opinion poll on Wednesday, 40% of registered voters
supported Trump, compared with 47% who said they will vote for
Biden. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.32-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and nearly matched them on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 72 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 126 new highs and 41 new lows.