US STOCKS-Nasdaq hits 9,000, S&P at record high on trade deal hopes, Amazon boost

© Reuters. US STOCKS-Nasdaq hits 9,000, S&P at record high on trade deal hopes, Amazon boost

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* China says in close contact with Washington on trade pact

* Tesla gains as Wedbush hikes price target

* Amazon gains on report of robust U.S. holiday online sales

* Indexes rise: Dow 0.28%, S&P 0.36%, Nasdaq 0.53%

(Updates comment, price action)

By Manas Mishra

Dec 26 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq breached the 9,000-point mark

for the first time and the S&P 500 hit a fresh record high on

Thursday, boosted by optimism over U.S.-China trade relations

and gains in Amazon.com after a report signaled robust online

holiday sales.

Shares of the retail giant AMZN.O rose 2.5% after

Mastercard's report showed U.S. shoppers spent more online

during the holiday shopping season, with e-commerce sales

hitting a record high. Gains in Amazon lifted the consumer discretionary index

.SPLRCD by 0.7%, the most among the 11 S&P 500 sectors.

"The important part is that the online sales were much

stronger than expected. The brick and mortar were less than

expected, so the online sales, and principally Amazon, saved the

day," said John Conlon, director, equity strategy at People's

United Advisors in Bennington, Vermont.

Traders returned from the Christmas break to Beijing's

reaffirmation that it was in close contact with Washington about

the initial agreement, which is widely expected to be signed in

early January. President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that the pact

would be formalized at a signing ceremony, but did not disclose

a date or location. "If the U.S.-China trade agreement can be signed, and we

move forward, that would help long term global growth," Conlon

said.

Hopes of a breakthrough in the prolonged trade war, combined

with a loose monetary policy and robust domestic data, have

powered U.S. stocks to record highs in the past few weeks.

The S&P 500 is about one percentage point short of its best

year since 1997.

At 11:26 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI

was up 80.77 points, or 0.28%, at 28,596.22, the S&P 500 .SPX

was up 11.65 points, or 0.36%, at 3,235.03. The Nasdaq Composite

.IXIC was up 47.21 points, or 0.53%, at 9,000.10.

Trading volumes are expected to remain thin this week.

A Labor Department report on Thursday showed that the number

of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week,

indicating resilience in the labor market. The energy sector .SPNY gained 0.6%, supported by higher

oil prices. O/R

Tesla Inc TSLA.O shares edged up 1.7% as Wedbush boosted

its price target on the electric-car maker's stock, partly on

expectations of strong U.S. demand for the Model 3 sedans.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.09-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.38-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 22 new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq recorded 93 new highs and 16 new lows.