US STOCKS-Stimulus hopes lift Wall Street after historic oil rout

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* Texas Instruments rises on upbeat Q1 results
* Netflix doubles expected signups on stay-at-home orders
* Chipotle jumps as online sales help amid pandemic
* Indexes up: Dow 1.49%, S&P 1.52%, Nasdaq 1.81%

(Updates to open)
By C Nivedita and Shreyashi Sanyal
April 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on
Wednesday on signs of more stimulus to aid small businesses ride
out the coronavirus-induced economic slump and a recovery in oil
prices.
U.S. crude and benchmark Brent prices edged higher after a
collapse in the past two days, sending the S&P 500 energy index
.SPNY up 2.8%, with Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N and Chevron Corp
CVX.N among the top gainers on the blue-chip Dow Jones.
All the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were trading higher,
as the U.S. Senate approved a relief package of $484 billion,
adding to trillions of dollars in stimulus that have helped Wall
Street rebound from its March lows.
The House of Representatives is expected to clear the bill
on Thursday. "Investors are looking at the economy very differently than
they are looking at markets," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager
at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.
"The market is getting a lot of support from the Federal
Reserve and the government. The economy is getting some, but the
economy is going to move at a different pace."
The benchmark S&P 500 is still 17% below its record high as
state-wide shutdowns spark layoffs and crush consumer spending,
putting several sectors at the risk of collapse.
Estimates for U.S. jobless claims for the latest week range
as high as 5.5 million, while a reading on April U.S. factory
activity is likely to fall to levels last seen during the 2008
financial crisis. Both reports are due Thursday.
Analysts have also drastically cut their S&P 500 earnings
expectations for the first and second quarters and are now
projecting a corporate recession for 2020, according to IBES
data from Refinitiv.
A week after the big U.S. banks issued dismal 2020
forecasts, consumer discretionary and technology firms fared
slightly better as the lockdown measures boosted demand for
online streaming and home delivery of meals.
"Earnings may or may not be good because (the health crisis)
just started taking root toward the end of the first quarter,"
said Andre Bakhos, managing director at New Vines Capital LLC in
Bernardsville, New Jersey.
"Investors are looking for what companies are going to say
on their prospects for the future and are gauging the ability of
management to navigate through this turbulent time."
Fast-casual chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG.N jumped
8.7% after it reported soaring digital and home delivery sales
and said it had enough cash and liquidity to get through the
next year. Texas Instruments Inc TXN.O rose 3.5% as the chip industry
bellwether reported better-than-expected first-quarter results
and said a strong inventory allowed it to be prepared for
disruptions caused by the pandemic. Netflix Inc NFLX.O more than doubled its own projections
for new customers in the first quarter. However, its shares fell
3.6% as it forecast a weaker second half if the lockdown
measures were to be lifted. Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N reported its first quarterly
loss in nine years, but shares gained 3.5% after the airline
operator said cheap fuel and cost reduction measures will cut
its expenses by about half in the current quarter. At 10:16 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 343.40 points, or 1.49%, at 23,362.28, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 41.58 points, or 1.52%, at 2,778.14 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 149.96 points, or 1.81%, at 8,413.19.