US STOCKS-Wall St at record high as Democrats take control of Senate

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* Walgreens top gainer on Dow after profit beat
* Weekly jobless claims dip unexpectedly
* DXC jumps on $10 bln takeover offer from French rival
* Indexes up: Dow 0.7%, S&P 1.4%, Nasdaq 2.4%

(Adds comment, details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Jan 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street hit record levels on Thursday
as market participants bet on more coronavirus relief aid under
a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress to help the economy ride out
a steep pandemic-induced downturn.
Investors shrugged off growing calls for President Donald
Trump's removal and a staff exodus on Thursday, one day after
Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault
on American democracy. "The market is now looking past Trump and it's looking
forward to a Biden presidency, more structure and stimulus,"
said Dennis Dick, a trader at Bright Trading LLC.
"A Democratic Congress is going to obviously be more
concerned about the small businesses, and the Main Street."
Economy-linked financials .SPSY jumped 1.5%, while
industrial .SPLRCI and materials .SPLRCM sectors hovered
near record highs on expectations that President-elect Joe Biden
would line up a bigger fiscal package and boost infrastructure
spending. "You're seeing a reflation trade on the assumption that a
more progressive and aggressive fiscal stimulus package could be
in the offing," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at
GlobAlt in Atlanta.
Rate-sensitive bank shares .SPXBK gained 2.7%, tracking a
surge in the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield. US/
The S&P 500 technology .SPLRCT index, up 2.4%, was set to
more than make up for its losses from a day earlier, when shares
of some of the biggest technology companies dropped on fears of
increased regulation.
The NYSE FANG+TM index .NYFANG , which includes the core
FAANG group of stocks that have led the Wall Street rally from
pandemic lows, gained 2.5%.
At 01:35 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 228.82 points, or 0.74%, to 31,058.22, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 53.51 points, or 1.43%, to 3,801.69, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 302.87 points, or 2.38%, to 13,043.33.
The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits
unexpectedly dipped last week, while staying elevated, a Labor
Department report showed, with the job market recovery appearing
to stall as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to overwhelm the
country. "With more stimulus coming, even if we do have a miss on
claims, it's going to be a little bit less severe, because we
know there's going to be a bigger back up for those who are
recently unemployed," said Max Gokhman, head of asset allocation
at Pacific Life Fund Advisors in Newport Beach, California.
Investors are now awaiting a comprehensive December jobs
report, which is expected on Friday.
DXC Technology Co DXC.N surged 7% as France's IT
consulting group Atos SE ATOS.PA made a more than $10 billion
takeover approach for its U.S. rival, according to two sources
with knowledge of the matter. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O jumped 6.4% to a
record high, with its chief and billionaire entrepreneur Elon
Musk surpassing Amazon.com Inc's AMZN.O top boss Jeff Bezos to
become the world's richest man, according to a report.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O advanced 6%, leading
gains among Dow components .DJI , after it beat analysts'
estimates for adjusted quarterly profit, driven by higher sales
at its retail pharmacy stores and higher prescription volumes.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.5-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 93 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 477 new highs and 15 new lows.