US STOCKS-Wall Street gains on Apple, stimulus hopes 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
* Indexes up: Dow 0.45%, S&P 500 0.71%, Nasdaq 0.85%

(Updates to open)
By Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose on Tuesday as
progress toward a massive government spending bill and COVID-19
relief measures kept spirits high, while investors awaited new
economic cues from the Federal Reserve's final meeting of the
year.
Apple Inc AAPL.O was the top boost to the Dow and the
Nasdaq, rising 4% 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. 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. Markets have moved in tandem with news on a relief bill,
which is expected to further offset the economic impact of the
virus outbreak and keep liquidity high.
But concerns over the timing of the bill, as well as a spike
in the U.S. coronavirus death toll pushed the S&P 500 to a
four-day losing streak on Monday, despite optimism over the
launch of a nationwide vaccination program.
"There is a likelihood of some amount of stimulus to be
passed, but investors are really hopeful of a stronger response
to the current situation," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry
Lane Investments in New Jersey.
At 9:54 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 133.99 points, or 0.45%, at 29,995.54, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 26.03 points, or 0.71%, at 3,673.52. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 105.53 points, or 0.85%, at 12,545.57.
Technology stocks .SPLRCT were the best performing S&P 500
sector in early trading.
Increased liquidity and ultra-low lending rates have seen
investors flocking to stocks for returns through the COVID-19
pandemic, with the technology sector benefiting the most.
"The time-tested big tech names have shown their ability to
weather the storm, even during some very tough times with the
virus, so investors see them as names that can survive any
potential shutdowns and still do well when things go back to
normal," Meckler added.
The Fed is expected to signal easy monetary policy for the
foreseeable future in its two-day meeting starting Tuesday. The
recent coronavirus vaccine roll-out is also expected to improve
the central bank's 2021 outlook. Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N rose 2.1% 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 3.2%, 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 2.51-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.67-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded eight new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and 10 new lows.