US STOCKS-Wall Street gains on optimism over easing lockdowns

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* CVS rises as profit beats on coronavirus-led stockpiling
* GM jumps on Q1 profit beat, plans N. American restart
* Activision Blizzard jumps after raising 2020 forecast
* Indexes up: Dow 0.25%, S&P 500 0.38%, Nasdaq 1.11%

(Updates to open, adds comments)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Medha Singh
May 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on
Wednesday on hopes of a pickup in business activity as states
eased coronavirus-induced curbs, with investors also looking
past a stunning 20 million plunge in U.S. private payrolls last
month.
Five of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading higher, with
the technology index .SPLRCT leading gains as traders bought
into stocks perceived to be resilient at a time when billions of
people globally are still locked indoors.
U.S. stock indexes are now on course to gain for three
straight sessions, building on a rally in April that was sparked
by unprecedented stimulus and signs that the outbreak was
peaking.
However, with macroeconomic data still foreshadowing a
severe global recession, analysts have warned of another
selloff, particularly if reopening of economies sparks another
wave of infections.
Data on Wednesday showed U.S. private employers laid off a
record 20.236 million workers in April, setting up the overall
labor market for historic job losses last month. The Labor Department's more comprehensive report is due
Friday, while a reading of initial jobless claims is set to be
released on Thursday.
"We knew this was going to be bad so it matches the jobless
claims. A lot of the bad news for April is pretty much factored
in," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
"But markets are looking at a potential recovery here, we've
got a lot of states opening up. Businesses are starting to get
going again, but the question is, is it too fast?"
At 10:45 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 60.78 points, or 0.25%, at 23,943.87, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 10.94 points, or 0.38%, at 2,879.38 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 97.84 points, or 1.11%, at 8,906.96.
The S&P financials index .SPSY was among the biggest
decliners as the Treasury Department said it would launch a
long-planned 20-year bond to meet record government borrowing
needs amid the outbreak. In company news, General Motors Co GM.N jumped 6.3% after
the automaker topped first-quarter profit expectations and
outlined plans for a May 18 restart of most of its North
American plants. CVS Health Corp CVS.N gained 2.6% after the company posted
a better-than-expected first-quarter profit, as its pharmacy
benefits management business and its drugstores benefited from
customers stockpiling medicines due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Activision Blizzard Inc ATVI.O rose 4.9% after raising its
revenue forecast on higher demand for video games such as its
"Call of Duty" amid lockdowns. Walt Disney Co DIS.N added 3.7% after the company said it
would reopen Shanghai Disneyland to a reduced number of visitors
next week, even as it estimated a $1.4 billion hit to profit.
Advancing issues almost matched decliners on the NYSE and
the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and 11 new lows.