US STOCKS-Dow, Nasdaq hit record highs as focus turns to Biden's stimulus plan

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* Weekly jobless claims rise more than expected
* Biden to outline stimulus plan on Thursday evening
* Indexes up: Dow 0.43%, S&P 0.29%, Nasdaq 0.51%

(Updates to market open; Adds comment)
By Devik Jain and Medha Singh
Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Dow and the Nasdaq hit record highs
on Thursday in anticipation of President-elect Joe Biden's
pandemic aid proposal to jump-start a struggling economy after
data highlighted weakening labor market conditions.
The Labor Department's weekly jobless report showed the
number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits increased
more than expected last week, underscoring the impact of a
resurgence in COVID-19 infections. However, the S&P 500 rose for the seventh time in nine
sessions this year as investors count on Biden to unveil a
stimulus plan on Thursday evening that could exceed $1.5
trillion. "For a while investors have been looking forward to what the
picture might be like once the vaccine is fully distributed and
the worst parts of the pandemic over," said Rick Meckler,
partner, Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in
New Vernon, New Jersey.
"There is a little bit of a fear of 'sell on the news' that
when (stimulus) is actually introduced, it won't be as large as
some people like or it's possible that market will start to look
at how it's going to be paid for."
Among individual stocks, Delta Air Lines DAL.N gained
about 5% as Chief Executive Ed Bastian forecast 2021 to be "the
year of recovery" after the coronavirus pandemic prompted its
first annual loss in 11 years. The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR added 3.4%.
Five of the 11 major S&P sectors rose in early trading with
economy-linked energy .SPNY , financial .SPSY and industrials
.SPLRCI gaining the most.
The domestically-focused small-cap Russell 2000 .RUT also
hit an all-time high.
Analysts have said near-term political uncertainties in
Washington, a relentless rise in coronavirus cases and a slower
than expected rollout of vaccines could impede gains for
equities in the short-term.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump became the first president
in U.S. history to be impeached twice when the House voted
232-197 on Wednesday to charge him with inciting riots at the
Capitol. The impeachment proceedings threaten to hang over the
beginning of Biden's term. At 10:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 116.19 points, or 0.38% , to 31,178.17, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 11.29 points, or 0.30 %, to 3,821.13 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 81.07 points, or 0.62 %, to 13,210.89.
U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co
Ltd TSM.N surged about 10% after posting its best-ever
quarterly profit and raised revenue and capital spending
estimates to record levels. The Philadelphia semiconductor index .SOX jumped 2.3% to a
record high.
Attention is shifting to the earnings season with results
from JPMorgan JPM.N , Citigroup C.N and Wells Fargo WFC.N
slated for Friday.
First-quarter and 2021 corporate guidance will be key for
investors as new lockdowns threaten to push back a recovery in
corporate earnings, according to investment banks. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3-to-1 ratio on
the NYSE and by a 3-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 383 new highs and three new lows.