US STOCKS-S&P 500 edges up to touch record for fourth day

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* Snap Inc rises after rating upgrade
* Job openings rise more than expected in Feb
* Dow down 0.2%, S&P 500 up 0.02%, Nasdaq up 0.18%

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments
to mid-afternoon, changes byline, adds NEW YORK dateline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street was little changed
on Tuesday, with the Dow easing but the S&P 500 inching up to
hit a record high for a fourth consecutive session, buoyed by
more strong U.S. economic data.
U.S. job openings rose in February to a two-year high while
hiring picked up. The data came on the heels of
Friday's strong payrolls report and a report on Monday showing
activity in the service sector climbed to a record high in
March. The International Monetary Fund raised its global growth
forecast to 6% this year from 5.5%, a rate not seen since the
1970s. Gains on Wall Street were muted, with the Dow slightly lower
a day after a rally sent it and the S&P 500 to record highs.
Investors were assessing the staying power of gains in
economically sensitive sectors such as industrials .SPLRCI and
materials .SPLRCM that have been leading the charge higher.
Shares of many economically sensitive companies are
classified as value .RLV stocks. But growth .RLG , which
includes many stocks in the technology .SPLRCT and
communication services .SPLRCL sectors, has shown signs of
life.
"Anytime you kind of go into a paradigm shift or a regime
change – value to growth, higher rates - it is never going to be
in a straight line – and days like this are always a good
reminder of that," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at
Baird in Louisville, Kentucky.
"There could definitely be some questioning of it,
particularly for people who maybe played along with the value
rotation and capitalized on the economic reopening projections
but aren't as comfortable holding those positions."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 68.57 points,
or 0.2%, to 33,458.62, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.88 points, or
0.02%, to 4,078.79 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 25.27
points, or 0.18%, to 13,730.86.
Large U.S. fiscal and monetary stimulus measures and a swift
rollout of vaccines have pushed the S&P 500 and Dow to record
levels, with the CBOE volatility index .VIX retreating to
pre-pandemic lows.
Still, some investors remain worried about the possibility
of rising inflation and proposals for higher taxes. In addition,
other countries continue to have difficulty containing the
coronavirus. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on
Tuesday the country is facing a very serious third wave.

Snap Inc SNAP.N jumped 4.04% after Atlantic Equities
upgraded its rating on the photo-messaging app owner's shares to
"overweight" from "neutral". Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N added 4.68% as
it said it would begin sailing outside the United States from
the Caribbean and Greek Isles in July, restarting trips after a
year-long hiatus brought on by the pandemic. Illumina Inc ILMN.O gained 8.52% after the gene-sequencing
company set current-quarter revenue target ahead of analysts'
expectations. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.70-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.12-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 65 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 121 new highs and 19 new lows.