US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq up on tech gains; unfazed by vaccine pause, inflation

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* J&J shares hit one-month low
* Rival vaccine makers Pfizer, Moderna jump
* Big bank earnings to kick off from Wednesday
* Crypto-stocks jump ahead of Coinbase IPO
* Indexes: Dow off 0.21%, S&P up 0.32%, Nasdaq up 0.87%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By David French
April 13 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hit an intraday record high
on Tuesday and the Nasdaq composite index jumped as investors
flocked to tech-related stocks, and markets took the halt in
Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine rollout and strong U.S.
inflation in stride.
The drugmaker's shares JNJ.N fell 1.9% after hitting a
one-month low, as calls for pausing the use of its COVID-19
vaccine after six women developed rare blood clots dealt a fresh
setback to efforts to tackle the pandemic. The news came as U.S. data showed the consumer price index
(CPI) in March rose by the most in more than 8-1/2 years,
kicking off what the majority of economists expect will be a
brief period of higher inflation. The J&J news could spark fears the broader economic rebound
stemming from vaccine distribution could be derailed. Shares of
cruise operators, airlines and hotel chains poised to benefit
from an economic reopening fell.
Wider markets remained positive as investors returned to
high-flying technology names that flourished during
coronavirus-induced lockdowns last year. Apple Inc AAPL.O ,
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O gained
between 0.8% and 2.3%.
"While the jump in CPI is pretty significant, the market may
take it with a grain of salt," said Mike Loewengart, managing
director at investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial.
"The real curveball today is the J&J vaccine halt, although
this too may be shrugged off as a minor setback. While this may
cause some short-term volatility, investors have been pretty
steadfast in their faith in a full economic recovery."
At 2.33 pm EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
71.7 points, or 0.21%, to 33,673.7, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
13.24 points, or 0.32%, to 4,141.23 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 120.95 points, or 0.87%, to 13,970.95.
The technology sector .SPLRCT rose 0.6%, and the utilities
index .SPLRCU was up 1.2%.
The NYSE FANG+TM Index .NYFANG jumped 1.6%, putting it on
track for a record 12th straight session of gains.
Highlighting investors' attitudes was the volatility index
.VIX , which matched the 14-month low of 16.69 hit on Friday.
"This year, 20 had proved to be a bit of a floor, but what
we've seen from the start of this month is the VIX broke down
through that level and established its trading range at
mid-teens, which is notable for the broader risk environment as
we enter earnings season," said Greg Boutle, U.S. head of equity
and derivative strategy at BNP Paribas.
First-quarter earnings season begins in earnest on
Wednesday, with the first reports expected from Goldman Sachs
GS.N , JPMorgan JPM.N and Wells Fargo WFC.N .
Analysts expect earnings for S&P 500 firms to have jumped
25% from a year earlier, driven by strength in consumer
discretionary and financial companies, according to Refinitiv
IBES data.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related firms Riot Blockchain
RIOT.O jumped 12.3% and Marathon Digital Holdings MARA.O
added 3.3% as bitcoin prices BTC=BTSP soared 6%, a day ahead
of the listing of Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency
exchange.