US STOCKS-S&P 500, Dow at record highs as year-end rally continues

* Upbeat China data signals resilience in global economy

* Amazon extends Thursday's rally on online holiday sales

* Indexes: Dow up 0.19%, S&P flat, Nasdaq down 0.11%

(Updates prices)

By Manas Mishra

Dec 27 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow inched to fresh

record highs on Friday, as hopes of an imminent U.S.-China trade

deal and an improving global economy continued to fuel a

year-end rally.

The benchmark index .SPX , which is about half a percentage

point shy of logging its best year since 1997, has hit several

records this month, on hopes of an imminent truce between the

world's two largest economies.

China and the United States announced a Phase 1 deal earlier

this month, but have since disclosed few concrete details.

Beijing said this week it was in close contact with Washington

regarding the trade pact.

Wall Street's main indexes pared gains after opening at

record highs, with the Nasdaq .IXIC flitting between gains and

losses.

"We've had such a long run so far that it now feels a bit

overstretched," said Katrina Lamb, head of investment strategy

and research at MV Financial, in Bethesda, Maryland.

"These moves are expected in the absence of anything

earth-shaking happening."

Pointing to a resilient global economy, data on Friday

showed profits at China's industrial firms grew at the fastest

pace in eight months in November, but broad weakness in the

country's domestic demand remains a risk for company earnings

next year. At 12:42 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI

was up 53.50 points, or 0.19%, at 28,674.89, the S&P 500 .SPX

was up 1.68 points, or 0.05%, at 3,241.59. The Nasdaq Composite

.IXIC was down 9.77 points, or 0.11%, at 9,012.62.

Shares of Amazon Inc AMZN.O rose 1%, after having risen

about 4% on Thursday on a Mastercard report which showed U.S.

shoppers spent more online during the holiday shopping season

than in 2018. Netflix Inc NLFX.O and Alphabet Inc GOOG.O were among

the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. The so-called FAANG

group of stocks have logged a good run over the past decade,

with Netflix shares topping the S&P 500 in the same period.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.09-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a

1.41-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 56 new 52-week highs and no new low,

while the Nasdaq recorded 77 new highs and 18 new lows.

World stock markets in 2019 https://tmsnrt.rs/399IrGu

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