US STOCKS-S&P 500 hits new intraday record, regaining pre-COVID levels

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Nasdaq hits intra-day high for second straight day
* Home Depot, Walmart shares mixed after results
* Indexes: Dow dips 0.03%, S&P up 0.30%, Nasdaq rises 0.64%

(Updates to afternoon trading, adds fresh comment, changes
byline)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 climbed to a record
on Tuesday, surpassing a level hit in February before the
coronavirus crisis and crowning one of the most dramatic
recoveries in the index's history.
Trillions of dollars in fiscal and monetary stimulus have
made Wall Street flush with cash, pushing yield-seeking
investors into equities. Amazon AMZN.O and other high growth
technology-related stocks have been viewed as the most reliable
to ride out the crisis.
The S&P 500 .SPX rose as much as 0.4% to an all-time high
of 3,395.06 points during the session. If the benchmark ends the
session above its Feb. 19 record high close of 3,386.15, it
would confirm that the index has been in a new bull market since
hitting its pandemic low on March 23. It has surged about 55%
since then.
Doubts about the underlying health of the economy, however,
persisted in Tuesday's session, with lukewarm reactions to
bumper results from Home Depot HD.N and Walmart WMT.N
limiting gains.
The S&P 500 flirted with all-time highs for several sessions
before finally hitting a new record, raising questions about
whether this run of gains could last.
"It begs the question whether the S&P will continue to make
broader-based highs, not just in the technology space," said
Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in
Atlanta. "Is there enough participation outside of the
technology to drive new highs?"
At 1:53 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
7.31 points, or 0.03%, to 27,837.6, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
10.18 points, or 0.30%, to 3,392.17 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 70.91 points, or 0.64%, to 11,200.64.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq index .IXIC , which was the first to
bounce back fully from March lows, hit a record high for the
second consecutive session.
Consumer discretionary .SPLRCD rose the most among major
S&P sectors on strength in Amazon while technology stocks
provided another major support to the benchmark index.
"Technology stocks continue to be the leaders ... that
really hasn't changed from what we've been looking at over the
past couple of months," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at
Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.
Home Depot Inc HD.N reported its biggest rise in quarterly
same-store sales in at least two decades, however, its shares
fell about 1% after analysts cautioned that its sales might have
hit their peak. Walmart Inc WMT.N traded marginally higher after posting
its biggest-ever growth in online sales as shoppers cashed in
stimulus checks and ordered everything from electronics and toys
to groceries from the safety of their homes amid the COVID-19
pandemic.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. homebuilding accelerated by the
most in nearly four years in July in the latest sign the housing
sector is emerging as one of the few areas of strength in an
economy suffering a record slowdown. That further
added to market optimism.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent meeting due on
Wednesday, meanwhile, may provide some insight into how the
central bank sees the recovery playing out. The Fed has cut
rates to near zero to bolster business through the pandemic.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.34-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.66-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 new highs and 16 new lows.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
S&P 500's bull-to-bear, bear-to-bull journey in 6 months https://tmsnrt.rs/317IssI
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>