US STOCKS-Nasdaq jumps as technology stocks back in favor

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* Lyft up on plans to enter food-delivery market
* Growth stocks outperform value shares
* Indexes up: Dow 0.3%, S&P 0.9%, Nasdaq 1.9%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
Nov 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes advanced on
Wednesday as signs of a working COVID-19 vaccine raised hopes of
a faster-than-expected economic rebound, with technology stocks
bouncing back from steep losses this week as coronavirus cases
spiraled.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC advanced 1.9%, while mega-caps
Netflix Inc NFLX.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and Apple Inc
AAPL.O , the so-called stay-at-home winners, also gained
between 1.3% and 2.7%.
The tech index .SPLRCT climbed 2.4%, the most among major
S&P sectors, followed by the consumer discretionary index
.SPLRCD .
The S&P growth stock index .IGX outperformed the value
index .IGX , which includes banks and energy stocks, in a
reversal of Tuesday's trend.
Encouraging data from a late-stage vaccine earlier this week
prompted a rotation away from technology names, and lifted
demand for stocks sensitive to economic outlook, as well as
value stocks including industrials .SPLRCI and healthcare
.SPXHC that have lagged broader market.
"We will see this tug of war between the virus and the
vaccine and between growth and cyclicals for months, until
there's a more definitive timeline for mass distribution of the
vaccine," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at
Inverness Counsel in New York.
Meanwhile, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist urged
caution until a vaccine can be approved and distributed, as
California and several states across the U.S. Midwest tightened
restrictions. Markets, which also got a boost after Democrat Joe Biden was
projected the winner of the U.S. election, have shrugged off
legal challenges from President Donald Trump as no evidence of
problems with votes have been produced.
The Democratic Party retained control of the U.S. House of
Representatives with a lower majority, the Associated Press
reported, but investors are more focused on Senate races in
January that could determine if major Democratic priorities such
as a large coronavirus aid bill would be passed. At 12:39 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 75.31 points or 0.26% to 29,496.23, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 31.01 points or 0.88% to 3,576.56 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 217.40 points or 1.88% to 11,771.25.
Lyft Inc LYFT.O jumped 2.7% after the ride-hailing app
said it was working on a new service to take a slice of the
burgeoning food-delivery market, as it works to make up for a
drop in quarterly revenue. The Philadelphia SE chip index .SOX rose about 3.4% after
suffering sharp losses a day earlier.
Advancing issues matched decliners on the NYSE and favored
advancers for 1.1-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 79 new highs and six new
lows.