US STOCKS-Wall St rises on vaccine hopes, Goldman profit beat

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* Goldman Sachs rises as trading revenue doubles
* Energy, industrial, financial stocks lead gains
* Indexes up: Dow 0.59%, S&P 0.57%, Nasdaq 0.05%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
July 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday with the
S&P 500 hovering near its highest level in more than four months
following promising early data for a potential COVID-19 vaccine
and a strong quarterly showing by Goldman Sachs.
Moderna Inc MRNA.O rose 5.8% after a small-scale study
showed its experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced high levels of
virus-killing antibodies. Travel-related stocks Carnival Corp CCL.N , Royal Caribbean
Cruises Ltd RCL.N , Marriott International MAR.O and Wynn
Resorts WYNN.O rose between 6% and 17%, with the S&P 1500
airlines index .SPCOMAIR up 6%.
"A vaccine or treatment for COVID-19 remains the best hope
for the economy," said Adam Phillips, director of portfolio
strategy at EP Wealth Advisors in Torrance, California.
"Even though we like to see progress on a vaccine, the fact
remains that it will not be available for sometime and the
number of cases around the country continue to climb each day."
The United States has failed to control the coronavirus and
there is a high level of uncertainty over how much the pandemic
will affect the economy, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank
President Patrick Harker said, as a number of U.S. sunbelt
states reported a surge in COVID-19 cases recently.
The three main U.S. stock indexes have recouped most of
their losses from the coronavirus-led slump, with a raft of
stimulus measures and encouraging economic data lifting the S&P
500 to within 5% of its record high hit in February.
With the second-quarter earnings season now underway,
investors are looking for annual forecasts from marquee
companies for signs of the pace of the rebound in Corporate
America.
Goldman Sachs GS.N rose 0.6% as its trading revenue
doubled in the second quarter, driven by big swings in stock and
bond markets since March. Morgan Stanley MS.N gained 0.6% and Bank of America
BAC.N rose 1.3% ahead of their results on Thursday which would
wrap up earnings from the big six U.S. banks. The broader
banking index .SPXBK climbed 2.0%.
At 12:50 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 156.43 points, or 0.59%, at 26,799.02, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 18.24 points, or 0.57%, at 3,215.76. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 4.91 points, or 0.05%, at 10,493.48.
Gains for the Nasdaq were capped by online retail giant
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , video streaming platform Netflix Inc
NFLX.O and Microsoft Corp MSFT.O which slipped after surging
to record highs recently.
"It's a sign that we are returning to normal so people start
rotating out of those areas that have really benefited the most
from this unique recession," said Phillips.
UnitedHealth Group Inc UNH.N fell 1.8% after warning of
rising costs later this year as Americans catch up on less
urgent surgeries halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.46-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE by a 3.40-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 27 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and two new lows.