US STOCKS-Nasdaq hits record as growth names get a bump

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* Apple, Facebook, Tesla boost Nasdaq
* Intel drops on report of Apple prepping new Mac chips
* Dow down 0.69%, S&P 500 down 0.39%, Nasdaq up 0.30%

(Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq climbed to a record
high on Monday after investors moved into mega-cap growth stocks
even as a new round of COVID-19 restrictions underscored the
economic impact of the pandemic.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC advanced 0.4%, as several of
its largest constituents, including Apple AAPL.O , up 1.56% and
Facebook Inc FB.O , up 2.05%, advanced. Still, a decline in
names such as Alphabet GOOGL.O and Microsoft MSFT.O kept
major averages in check.
Large cap growth stocks .RLG which had underperformed
value stock .RLV names in recent weeks as investors looked to
names likely to benefit from a reopened economy, edged up 0.21%
while value fell 0.80%.
Authorities in California, the most populous state in the
country, on Monday compelled much of the state to close shop and
stay at home the day after it reported a record 30,000-plus new
coronavirus cases. "Value needed a rest so you are getting a little of that
today," said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush
Securities in San Francisco.
"It's been a big move, the vaccine is clearly going to be
beneficial but there is going to be some pause and wait here,"
he said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 209.4 points,
or 0.69%, to 30,008.86, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 14.6 points, or
0.39%, to 3,684.52 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 36.96
points, or 0.3%, to 12,501.19.
Weighing heavily on value names were energy stocks, as the
S&P 500 energy index .SPNY fell 0.21%, the worst performing
among the 11 major sectors as oil prices slipped. The sector has
been the best performer this quarter, climbing nearly 30%.
Wall Street tracked a more cautious move in global stocks
earlier in the day after Washington imposed financial sanctions
and a travel ban on some Chinese officials over their alleged
role in Beijing's disqualification of elected opposition
legislators in Hong Kong last month. But with President-elect Joe Biden due to take office on
Jan. 20, analysts expect the focus to largely remain on his
approach to relations with China, and less on measures adopted
in the waning days of the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, investors are closely tracking developments on
the passage of a long-awaited coronavirus relief bill, after
months of deadlocked negotiations between Republicans and
Democrats.
The U.S. Congress is likely to consider a one-week stopgap
funding bill to provide more time for lawmakers to reach
agreements in talks aimed at delivering COVID-19 relief and an
overarching spending bill to avoid a government shutdown,
Democratic aides said on Monday. Promising vaccine updates from major drugmakers have raised
investor hopes for an economic recovery next year and eased
worries over a surge in U.S. infections, powering Wall Street's
main indexes to record highs recently.
Intel Corp INTC.O fell 3.99% and was the biggest drag on
the S&P 500 after Bloomberg News reported Apple Inc AAPL.O was
planning a series of new Mac processors for introduction as
early as 2021 that are aimed at outperforming Intel's fastest
processors. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.34-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 26 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 238 new highs and 7 new lows.