US STOCKS-Dow hits 30,000 on vaccine progress, Biden transition

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* S&P 500 on track for best November ever
* Tesla market value crosses $500 billion
* Economically-sensitive industrials, banks, energy stocks
soar
* Indexes jump: Dow 1.69%, S&P 1.57%, Nasdaq 0.99%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Shivani Kumaresan
Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Dow breached 30,000 points for the
first time on Tuesday as investors bet on a swift economic
recovery next year following progress on coronavirus vaccines
and the formal go-ahead for President-elect Joe Biden's
transition to the White House.
Economically-sensitive industrial stocks .SPLRCI surged to
a record high, while the financials .SPSY and energy .SPNY
indexes jumped 3.3% and 4.8%, respectively.
Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose 4%, crossing $500
billion in market capitalization as investors lapped up its
shares in the run-up to its addition to the S&P 500 index.
"Investors are getting optimistic about the coming six
months," said Mike Zigmont, head of trading and research at
Harvest Volatility Management in New York.
"There has been a lot of positive vaccine news recently and
with the announcement that the transition of the Biden
administration is kicking off, it just makes a lot of
uncertainties of the future disappear."
Recent data suggesting a COVID-19 vaccine could be available
before the end of the year has put the S&P 500 .SPX on course
for its best November ever and sparked demand for value-linked
stocks that were hammered following the coronavirus-driven crash
earlier this year.
The S&P value index .IVX has gained about 15% so far in
November compared with an 11% rise in the S&P 500. By contrast,
the growth index .IGX , comprising the technology mega-caps
that were seen as safe during the recession, is up less than 9%.
Sentiment this week was also boosted by reports that Biden
planned to nominate former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as
Treasury Secretary, which could shift the focus heavily toward
efforts to tackle growing economic inequality. By 12:01 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 1.69% at 30,092.53. The S&P 500 .SPX was up 1.57% and
the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 0.99%.
Boeing Co BA.N jumped 4.2% after European regulators gave
draft approval to its 737 MAX jets, paving the way for a formal
flight clearance in January. BlackRock Inc, the world's largest asset manager, on Monday
upgraded U.S. equities to "overweight", turning bullish on
quality large-cap technology companies and small cap firms that
tend to perform well during a cyclical upswing. Still, with coronavirus cases surging by the day and
millions of Americans still unemployed, some traders suggested
the U.S. stock market could see a sharp pullback in the next few
weeks.
"We are positioning for a 20% stock market pullback between
now and the 2021 presidential inauguration," said James
McDonald, chief executive officer of Hercules Investments in Los
Angeles.
"We wouldn't be putting new money to work in stocks with the
Dow at 30,000 because of rising COVID-19 cases...and the
likelihood of insufficient fiscal stimulus from Congress."
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 4.30-to-1 on the NYSE
and 2.40-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 50 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 180 new highs and eight new lows.