US STOCKS-Vaccine optimism propels Nasdaq to record high

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* Boeing jumps on Ryanair's 737 MAX jet orders
* Jobless claims fall after rising for two straight weeks
* Goldman Sachs raises Tesla to "buy"
* Indexes: Dow +0.42%, S&P 500 +0.04%, Nasdaq +0.36%

(Updates with afternoon trade)
By Noel Randewich
Dec 3 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC hit an
all-time high on Thursday as investors stayed focused on a
COVID-19 vaccine and looked beyond bleak economic data, while
Boeing Co BA.N lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The S&P 500 .SPX bounced between a slight loss and a
slight gain after hitting a record high.
Boeing jumped over 7% after budget airline Ryanair RYA.I
ordered 75 additional 737 MAX jets with a list price of $9
billion, throwing a commercial lifeline to the embattled U.S.
planemaker. Tesla Inc surged TSLA.O 5% and drove the Nasdaq higher
after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to "buy" in the run-up to
the electric car maker's addition to the S&P 500. Data showed the number of Americans filing first-time claims
for jobless benefits fell last week, but remained
extraordinarily high at 712,000, while a separate survey showed
U.S. services industry activity slowed to a six-month low in
November. "I don't think we will see those numbers start to get back
to normal until we start to see a rollout of a vaccine," said
Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at IndexIQ. "The market is
discounting that and saying we are looking forward to the first
or second quarter and a rollout of the vaccine to the general
population."
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cited some
positive movement in congressional efforts to reach a compromise
on a new coronavirus aid bill but gave no hints on when such a
deal could be struck. Progress in developing a working COVID-19 vaccine before the
end of the year has driven the Wall Street's main indexes to
record levels in recent days. Despite the economic destruction
caused by the pandemic, the S&P 500 has gained 14% in 2020.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 0.42% at
30,008.19 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.04% to
3,670.36.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.36% to 12,394.21.
Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes rose, energy
.SPNY up 2% and leading gains.
Ongoing vaccine optimism helped lift the S&P 1500 airlines
index .SPCOMAIR 6%. Cruise operators Carnival Corp CCL.N
jumped 10% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N
surged 9%.
Cloud-security provider Zscaler Inc ZS.O surged 23% after
it reported better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and
adjusted profit.
Waddell & Reed Financial WDR.N surged 50%, extending gains
from the previous session, after Australia's Macquarie Group
MQG.AX announced a deal to buy the wealth manager for $1.7
billion. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a
2.59-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.95-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 154 new highs and six new lows.