US STOCKS-Wall Street set for higher open as Democrats take control of Senate

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* Walgreens top gainer on Dow after profit beat
* Dow futures hit record high
* Weekly jobless claims dip unexpectedly
* DXC jumps on $10 bln takeover offer from French rival
* Futures up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.57%, Nasdaq 0.83%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Devik Jain and Medha Singh
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to
open higher on Thursday as bets on more pandemic aid under a
Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress eclipsed data showing elevated
levels of unemployment claims.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits
unexpectedly dipped last week while staying extremely high, a
Labor Department report showed, with the job market recovery
appearing to stall as COVID-19 threatens to overwhelm the
country. The more comprehensive jobs report for December is expected
on Friday.
"The vaccines are here, they're being distributed.. and the
markets looking through that, so I'm not sure the short-term
jobless data will be an issue to the market," said Tom Mantione,
managing director of UBS Private Wealth Management in Stamford,
Connecticut.
After a dull start to the week, financials and industrial
stocks powered the Dow and the S&P 500 to all-time highs on
Wednesday in hopes that some of President-elect Joe Biden's
policies could speed up a vaccine-driven recovery. "The market is telling you that fiscal stimulus is more
important, and will be more impactful than the modest tax hikes
likely to be passed by the administration," Mantione said.
"A unified government will be a little bit of a more smooth
path to fiscal stimulus."
However, the Nasdaq .IXIC , dominated by FAANG stocks that
had led Wall Street's rally from the pandemic lows, closed lower
on fears that some of the companies could face antitrust
scrutiny.
The Congress on Thursday certified Biden's election victory,
hours after hundreds of President Donald Trump's supporters
stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault on American
democracy that briefly hit markets. At 08:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 121 points,
or 0.39%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 21.5 points, or 0.57%,
and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 104.25 points, or 0.83%.
Bank of America Corp BAC.N , Citigroup Inc C.N , JPMorgan
Chase & Co JPM.N and Goldman Sachs GS.N rose in pre-market
trading as the 10-year Treasury yield hovered near 1%. US/
DXC Technology DXC.N jumped about 10% as France's IT
consulting group Atos ATOS.PA made a more than $10 billion
takeover approach for its U.S. rival, according to two sources
with knowledge of the matter. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O jumped 2.7% and was
set for a record open after RBC Capital Markets upgraded its
stock rating to "sector perform". Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O gained 2.7%, leading
gains among members of the Dow .DJI , after it beat analysts'
estimates for adjusted quarterly profit, driven by higher sales
at its retail pharmacy stores and higher prescription volumes.