US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq drift towards record highs as data fuels stimulus bets

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* Payment cos jump as bitcoin hits all-time highs
* Cannabis shares reverse premarket gains
* Weekly jobless claims edge down
* Indexes: Dow flat, S&P up 0.20%, Nasdaq rises 0.53%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Feb 11 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on
Thursday, just shy of record highs with investors betting on
more fiscal stimulus to ride out a coronavirus-driven recession
as data showed a stalling recovery in the labor market.
Mastercard Inc MA.N rose about 3% after the credit-card
giant said it was planning to offer support for some
cryptocurrencies on its network this year, joining a string of
big-ticket firms that have pledged similar support. Other payments companies PayPal Holdings Inc PYPL.O and
Visa Inc V.N gained 7% and 2%, respectively.
Bank of New York Mellon BK.N rose about 2% after saying it
had formed a new unit to help clients hold, transfer and issue
digital assets, sending Bitcoin BTC=BTSP up over 8% to an
all-time high of $48,481. The number of Americans filing new applications for
unemployment benefits were 793,000 last week, compared to
812,000 in the prior week, but they are well below the record
6.867 million reported last March when the pandemic hit the
United States. "As long as the economic news is difficult the Fed is going
to continue to act, which will prop up the stock market," said
Sandy Villere, portfolio manager at Villere & Co in New Orleans,
Louisiana.
Wall Street's main indexes had hit record highs recently on
prospects of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package to
jumpstart the economy with a largely better-than-expected
earnings season also helping the sentiment.
Analysts now expect fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500
firms to grow 3%, versus forecast of a 10.3% drop at the
beginning of January, per Refinitiv data.
"There is room for the market to take a breather but usually
there is some sort of catalyst that gets that going," said Tom
Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments in
Atlanta.
"And right now the news isn't providing you that - fiscal
stimulus, monetary stimulus, coronavirus information and
earnings are all pretty positive."
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reassured investors
on Wednesday that interest rates will remain low for some time
to spur the economy and jobs growth, but provided no new
insights on monetary policy. The tech sector .SPLRCT and semiconductors .SOX hit
record highs, while economy-linked energy .SPNY and
industrials .SPLRCI took a back seat after being in the
spotlight this year.
At 11:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 4.43 points, or 0.01%, to 31,442.23, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 7.70 points, or 0.20%, to 3,917.58 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 74.71 points, or 0.53%, to 14,047.56.
U.S.-listed shares of cannabis companies including Tilray
TLRY.O and Aphria APHA.O reversed premarket gains to drop
42% and 20% after the sector caught the attention of
Reddit-inspired retail investors this week. Walt Disney Co DIS.N was nearly flat ahead of its results
after market close. Pinterest Inc PINS.N rose 7.1% after a report said
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O approached the image-sharing company in
recent months about a potential buyout. The negotiations were,
however, currently not active, according to the report.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.3-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 33 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 377 new highs and 11 new lows.