US STOCKS-S&P 500 on track for record closing high

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* Nasdaq hits record high for second straight day
* Home Depot, Walmart shares mixed after results
* Indexes: Dow dips 0.10%, S&P up 0.24%, Nasdaq rises 0.59%

(Updates to midday)
By Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh
Aug 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 hit a record high on Tuesday,
surpassing levels last seen before the onset of the coronavirus
crisis in February, ending one of the most dramatic plunges in
history with an equally historic recovery.
Trillions of dollars in fiscal and monetary stimulus have
flushed Wall Street with cash, pushing yield-seeking investors
into equities, with technology-related stocks, such as
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , being viewed as the most reliable to
ride out the crisis.
The S&P 500 .SPX rose as much as 0.4% to 3,395.06 points
during the session. If the benchmark closes above 3,386.15 it
would confirm that the index has been in a new bull market since
climbing about 55% from its pandemic low on March 23.
Doubts about the underlying health of the economy, however,
were writ large in the reaction to bumper results from Home
Depot Inc HD.N and Walmart Inc WMT.N , quickly cooling the
market off after initial gains.
"This is certainly a circumstance where capital markets are
looking beyond the current earnings and economic chasm that have
been created by economic shutdowns in response to COVID-19,"
said William Northey, senior investment director, U.S. Bank
Wealth Management at Helena, Montana.
"Capital markets are looking to 2021 and 2022 levels of
recovery with a degree of optimism that there is a health
solution (to COVID-19) around the corner."
At 1:27 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 28.83 points, or 0.10%, at 27,816.08, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 8.00 points, or 0.24%, at 3,389.99. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 65.25 points, or 0.59%, at 11,194.98, hitting a
record high for a second straight session.
Consumer discretionary shares .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 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 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. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's recent meeting, due on
Wednesday, 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 advancers for a 1.37-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.70-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 30 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and 15 new lows.

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