US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq up as tech stocks rise; lockdown easing hopes persist

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* CVS rises as profit beats on coronavirus-led stockpiling
* GM jumps on Q1 profit beat, plans N. American restart
* Activision Blizzard jumps after raising 2020 forecast
* Dow flat, S&P 500 up 0.12%, Nasdaq up 1.04%

(Adds comments, updates prices throughout)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Medha Singh
May 6 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on Wednesday
on hopes of a pickup in business activity as states eased
coronavirus-induced curbs, with investors also looking past a
stunning 20 million plunge in U.S. private payrolls last month.
Four of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading higher, with
the technology index .SPLRCT leading gains, as traders bought
into stocks perceived to be resilient at a time when billions of
people globally are still locked indoors.
"The leadership has come from stocks that benefit from
stay-at-home economy," said Jack Janasiewicz, portfolio
strategist at Natixis Investment Managers. "For the most part
people are hedging their bets, increasing their exposure to
companies such as Amazon and Microsoft."
The blue-chip Dow Jones index .DJI came under pressure
from declines in oil giant Chevron Corp CVX.N as crude prices
fell. The S&P 500 energy sub-index .SPNY dropped 2.2%.
U.S. stock indexes have rebounded sharply with a rally in
April sparked by unprecedented stimulus and signs that the virus
outbreak was peaking.
However, with macroeconomic data still foreshadowing a
severe global recession, analysts have warned of another
selloff, particularly if reopening of economies sparks another
wave of infections.
Data on Wednesday showed U.S. private employers laid off a
record 20.2 million workers in April, setting up the overall
labor market for historic job losses last month. The Labor Department's more comprehensive report is due
Friday, while a reading of initial jobless claims is set to be
released on Thursday.
"We knew this was going to be bad, so it matches the jobless
claims. A lot of the bad news for April is pretty much factored
in," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St.
Petersburg, Florida.
"But markets are looking at a potential recovery here, we've
got a lot of states opening up. Businesses are starting to get
going again, but the question is, is it too fast?"
At 11:38 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 1.97 points, or 0.01%, at 23,881.12, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 3.50 points, or 0.12%, at 2,871.94 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 91.97 points, or 1.04%, at 8,901.09.
The S&P financials index .SPSY was also among the biggest
decliners as the Treasury Department said it would launch a
long-planned 20-year bond to meet record government borrowing
needs amid the outbreak. In company news, General Motors Co GM.N jumped 5% after
the automaker topped first-quarter profit expectations and
outlined plans for a May 18 restart of most of its North
American plants. CVS Health Corp CVS.N gained 2.3% after the company posted
a better-than-expected quarterly profit, as its pharmacy
benefits management business and drugstores benefited from
customers stockpiling medicines due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Activision Blizzard Inc ATVI.O rose 5.2% after raising its
revenue forecast on higher demand for video games such as its
"Call of Duty" amid the lockdowns. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.96-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded five new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 40 new highs and 13 new lows.