US STOCKS-Wall Street jumps on hope that partial coronavirus stimulus deal may occur

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* Airlines rise after Trump's call for support
* Indexes up: Dow 2%, S&P 500 1.8%, Nasdaq 1.9%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
Oct 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors
were optimistic that at least a partial deal on more U.S. fiscal
stimulus may happen.
After abruptly calling off negotiations on a comprehensive
bill on Tuesday, President Donald Trump later that day urged
Congress to pass a series of smaller, standalone bills that
would include a bailout package for the airline industry
battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Airline shares jumped, including United Airlines UAL.N up
4.3%.
Indexes held gains after the Federal Reserve released
minutes from its last meeting.
"The only reason we were down yesterday was the tweet from
President Trump, which he walked back last night. That's why the
market started off stronger and continued stronger. I think
there's full-blown expectations that some form of stimulus
agreement is going to occur sooner than later," said Michael
James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities
in Los Angeles.
Top White House officials downplayed the possibility of more
coronavirus relief, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disparaged
Trump for backing away from talks on a comprehensive deal.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 556.7 points,
or 2%, to 28,329.46, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 61.38 points, or
1.83%, to 3,422.33 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 211.55
points, or 1.9%, to 11,366.16.
Focus on Wednesday will also be on a debate between Vice
President Mike Pence and Democratic opponent Kamala Harris, with
Trump's battle with COVID-19 and Democratic presidential
candidate Joe Biden's age providing an unusual backdrop.
Reuters/Ipsos opinion polls released on Tuesday showed Biden
expanding his lead over Trump in battleground Michigan and the
two candidates locked in a toss-up race in North Carolina ahead
of the Nov. 3 election. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
3.00-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.36-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 120 new highs and 15 new lows.