US STOCKS-Tech stocks push S&P 500 to record close, buoy Nasdaq

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* J&J shares hit one-month low
* Tech firms boost indexes
* Big bank earnings to kick off from Wednesday
* Crypto-stocks jump ahead of Coinbase IPO

(Updates to market close)
By David French
April 13 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 .SPX closed at another
record high on Tuesday and the Nasdaq composite index jumped, as
investors shook off concerns about the halt in Johnson &
Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine rollout and strong U.S. inflation.
The drugmaker's shares JNJ.N hit a one-month low before
recovering some of its losses, 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. U.S. futures initially dropped on the J&J news, but pared
losses after the CPI data. Solid demand for Tuesday lunchtime's
U.S. Treasuries issue pushed down yields further, highlighting
investors' lack of concern about any imminent bump in interest
rates. Instead, high-flying technology names that flourished during
coronavirus-induced lockdowns last year attracted renewed buying
that boosted Apple Inc AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and
Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O .
The wider technology sector .SPLRCT also rose, as did the
NYSE FANG+TM Index .NYFANG for a record 12th straight session.
The S&P 500 closed at record highs on Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday last week.
"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," said Mike
Loewengart, managing director at investment strategy at E*TRADE
Financial.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
65.96 points, or 0.2%, to 33,679.44, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
13.67 points, or 0.33%, to 4,141.66 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 146.10 points, or 1.05%, to 13,996.10.
Highlighting investors' unfazed attitudes was the volatility
index .VIX , which intraday dipped beneath the 14-month closing
low 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 companies 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, such as Riot
Blockchain RIOT.O and Marathon Digital Holdings MARA.O ,
gained as bitcoin prices BTC=BTSP soared, a day ahead of the
listing of Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange.