US STOCKS-Tech shares lead Wall Street higher as potential vaccines show promise

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* Nasdaq on track for record closing high
* Chevron slips after agreeing to buy Noble Energy for $5
bln
* Halliburton rises after quarterly results
* Moderna sinks on competitors' vaccine trial results
* Indexes up: Dow 0.14%, S&P 0.61%, Nasdaq 1.81%

(Updates to late afternoon, changes dateline, byline)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, July 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street advanced with the
Nasdaq set to reach a record closing high on Monday, as
investors pivoted away from cyclical stocks in favor of market
leaders while new cases of COVID-19 spiraled but there were
glimmers of hope that an effective vaccine will emerge.
Tech shares provided the biggest boost to all three major
U.S. stock indexes, but industrials were down, capping the Dow's
gains.
Deaths in the United States from COVID-19 passed the 140,000
mark over the weekend, as cases continued to rise in 42 of 50
states. Trials of potential vaccines have shown promise. Most
recently, drugs from AstraZenica AZN.L , CanSino Biologics Inc
6185.HK and from a partnership between Pfizer Inc PFE.N and
German biotech firm BioNTech BNTX.O were safely administered
and induced immune responses. "While there's good news on the vaccine front in early
trials, the reality is setting in that it's going to take quite
some time," Oliver Pursche, president of Bronson Meadows Capital
Management in Fairfield Connecticut. "With industrials and
materials down, that is not a reflection of a rebound in the
economy."
The U.S. Congress, still looking to mitigate the pandemic's
economic effects, was set for a week of partisan wrangling over
a new relief package, with two weeks until enhanced jobless
benefits expire for millions of Americans. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 37.52 points,
or 0.14%, to 26,709.47, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 19.72 points,
or 0.61%, to 3,244.45 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
190.46 points, or 1.81%, to 10,693.65.
Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, consumer
discretionary .SPLRCD and tech .SPLRCT enjoyed the largest
percentage gains.
Second-quarter earnings season chugged along. Some 48
companies in the S&P 500 have posted results, with 77.1% of
those beating consensus, according to Refinitiv data.
In aggregate, analysts now expect S&P 500 second-quarter
earnings to have dropped 43.2% year-on-year, per Refinitiv.
This week, Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O ,
Tesla Inc TSLA.O and Intel Corp INTC.O are among the
high-profile companies expected to report quarterly results.
Shares Halliburton Co HAL.N rose 3.5% after posting a
surprise adjusted quarterly profit and better-than-expected cash
flow due to cost-cutting. Noble Energy Inc NBL.O advanced 5.4% on news that Chevron
Corp CVX.N agreed to buy the oil and gas producer for $5
billion. Chevron dropped 2.1%.
Moderna Inc MRNA.O dropped 15.1% on positive results from
its competitors' rival COVID-19 drug trials. After the bell, International Business Machines Corp IBM.N
is expected to post second-quarter results.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.09-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.03-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 111 new highs and 10 new lows.