US STOCKS-S&P 500 set for best day in nine months on vaccine, stimulus cheer

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* U.S. bond market rout eases
* J&J's COVID-19 vaccine to be available in 1-2 days
* Cyclical energy, banks, materials stocks jump
* Indexes up: Dow 2.22%, S&P 2.27%, Nasdaq 2.41%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Shashank Nayar
March 1 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 on Monday was headed for its
best day since June 5 as bond markets calmed after a month-long
selloff, while encouraging updates on COVID-19 vaccines and
fiscal stimulus bolstered bets over a swift economic recovery.
The Dow was on pace for its best daily gain in nearly four
months, while the Nasdaq was set for its best daily percentage
gain in a month.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rose 1.8% as it began shipping its
single-dose vaccine after it became the third authorized
COVID-19 vaccine in the United States over the weekend.
President Joe Biden scored his first legislative win as the
House of Representatives passed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus
relief package early Saturday. The bill now moves to the Senate.
U.S. bond yields eased on Monday after a swift rise last
month on expectations of accelerated inflation due to bets on an
economic rebound. The U.S. 10-year treasury yield eased to
1.419% after hitting a one-year high of 1.614%. US/
"The sentiment is risk on with more investors showing
interest towards cyclical stocks while a positive vaccination
drive and better macro numbers are hinting towards a better
growth environment," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at
GLOBALT in Atlanta.
Latest data showed U.S. manufacturing activity increased to
a three-year high in February amid an acceleration in new
orders. All major S&P sectors were higher with those that stand to
benefit more from an economic rebound outperforming. Financials
.SPSY , energy .SPNY , industrials .SPLRCI and materials
.SPLRCM gained between 2.6% and 3%.
Wall Street's main indexes ended lower last week, with the
Nasdaq suffering its worst week in four months, as a rise in
long-dormant yields signaled bonds are more serious investment
competition, sparking a pullback in high-valuation tech stocks.
Apple AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Facebook Inc FB.O
and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O rebounded between 1% and 3.9% on
Monday.
At 11:25 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 685.37 points, or 2.22%, to 31,617.74, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 86.63 points, or 2.27%, to 3,897.78 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 318.06 points, or 2.41%, to 13,510.41.
Shares of cruise liner and carriers including Carnival Corp
CCL.N , Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N and American Airlines
AAL.O gained between 1.9% and 4.4%.
Boeing Co BA.N jumped 5.9% as United Airlines Holdings Inc
UAL.O ordered 25 new 737 MAX aircraft and moved up the
delivery of others as it prepares to replace aging jets and meet
expected post-pandemic growth in demand. Warren Buffett's enthusiasm for the future of America and
his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKa.N has not been dimmed
by the coronavirus pandemic, according to his annual letter to
investors. Berkshire's shares rose 2.3%. Perrigo Co Plc PRGO.N jumped about 7% as the consumer
healthcare products company said it would sell its
underperforming generic drugs business for $1.55 billion.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 5.8-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 5.6-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 172 new highs and 45 new lows.