US STOCKS-Wall Street gains on economic recovery hopes

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* S&P 500, Dow set for fourth weekly rise in five
* AMC jumps on further reopening plans
* Energy stocks jump on signs of improving oil demand
* Indexes up: Dow 0.79%, S&P 0.83%, Nasdaq 0.90%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
June 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped about 1% on Friday
with the tech-heavy Nasdaq hovering near a fresh record high on
hopes of a bounce back in post-pandemic economic activity, as
investors shrugged off rising new COVID-19 cases in several U.S.
states.
The Nasdaq opened above its all-time closing high on June
10, lifted by shares of the largest U.S. companies by market
capitalization, Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O .
Still, the index, which is rising for the seventeenth time
in 20 sessions was a touch away from a new intraday record.
The benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow are about 7% and
11% below their respective record closing highs hit in February.
Oil prices jumped amid signs of gradual recovery in demand
and a promise by oil producers to meet supply cuts, pushing up
the S&P energy sector .SPNY by 1.8%. O/R
"We expect the overshoot in equities to continue, driven by
the very aggressive monetary policy easing, fiscal expansions
and the continued reopening of the global economy with some
temporary setbacks," said Sebastien Galy, senior macro
strategist at Nordea Asset Management.
Risk of a resurgence of the virus outbreak prompting another
round of restrictive measures has led to choppy trading sessions
this week. However, the S&P 500 and the Dow are headed for their
fourth weekly rise in five following a strong retail sales
report and signs of additional official stimulus.
California, Florida and North Carolina urged mandatory mask
use on Thursday as at least six states set daily records for new
coronavirus cases. Mainland China also reported 32 new cases of
infections, an uptick from a day earlier. Markets are likely to become more volatile during Friday's
session on account of "quadruple witching," as investors unwind
interests in futures and options contracts prior to expiration.
At 10:01 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 205.51 points, or 0.79%, at 26,285.61, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 25.97 points, or 0.83%, at 3,141.31. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 89.40 points, or 0.90%, at 10,032.45.
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC.N jumped 5.8% on plans
to reopen theaters at about 450 locations in the United States
next month and the company expects returning to full-seating
capacity around Thanksgiving. Later in the day, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
will participate in a video conference where he will talk about
ways regions and cities across the country can help their
workforces better withstand and recover from shocks related to
the pandemic.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 3.27-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.60-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 87 new highs and no new low.