US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq set for record highs on stimulus progress, job market rebound

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* J&J files COVID-19 vaccine application with the FDA
* Nonfarm payrolls increase by 49,000 in January
* Pinterest jumps as results top estimates
* Futures up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 0.40%, Nasdaq 0.33%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Feb 5 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on track
to open at record highs on Friday on signs of progress towards
more economic stimulus while a closely watched jobs report
confirmed the labor market was stabilizing.
Still, U.S. employment growth rebounded less than expected
in January and job losses in December were deeper than initially
thought, strengthening the argument for additional relief money
to aid the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joe Biden's drive to enact a $1.9 trillion
coronavirus aid bill gained momentum early on Friday as the U.S.
Senate narrowly approved a budget plan allowing the passage of
the legislation in coming weeks with or without Republican
support. "The market has priced in this Goldilocks scenario that
we're going to get past COVID and we're all going to go back to
normal," said Dennis Dick, proprietary trader at Bright Trading
LLC in Las Vegas.
"It's just a matter of how quickly that recovery comes."
Stimulus talks, upbeat earnings and progress in vaccine
rollouts have bolstered bets of a speedy economic recovery,
setting the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC on track for
their best weeks since the U.S. election in early November.
A retail trading frenzy also appeared to fade after upending
markets last week. Videogame retailer GameStop Corp's GME.N
shares, which have shed more than 80% of their value this week,
were up 8% at $58 in premarket trading.
Stronger-than-expected corporate results so far in the
fourth quarter have driven up analysts' expectations, and S&P
500 companies are now on track to post earnings growth for the
quarter instead of a decline as initially expected. At 8:35 a.m. EST, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 121 points,
or 0.39% and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 15.5 points, or
0.4%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 44.5 points, or 0.33%.
Futures tracking the domestically focused Russell 2000
RTYcv1 gained 0.7%.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rose 2% after the drugmaker said
it had asked U.S. health regulators to authorize its single-dose
COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, and it would apply to
European authorities in the coming weeks. Chamath Palihapitiya-backed Clover Health Investments Corp
CLOV.O said it had received a letter from the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission following a critical report published by
noted short-selling specialist Hindenburg Research. Clover's shares rose 3.4% after plunging about 12% on
Thursday.
Pinterest Inc PINS.N jumped 10% after the image-sharing
company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Snapchat owner Snap Inc SNAP.N dropped about 7.5% after it
warned that upcoming privacy changes by Apple Inc AAPL.O could
hurt its ad business.