US STOCKS-Wall St climbs on vaccine hopes, upbeat retail sales data

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* Boeing up on report 737 MAX declared safe by Europe
regulator
* U.S. retail sales accelerate in September
* Indexes up: Dow 0.57%, S&P 0.40%, Nasdaq 0.50%

(Updates to market open)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
Oct 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street bounced back on Friday after
three straight days of losses as Pfizer said it could apply for
emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate as early as
November, while data showed stronger-than-expected retail sales
growth last month.
The drugmaker's shares PFE.N firmed 1.4% as it expects to
provide safety data and file for authorization of the vaccine,
which it is developing with Germany's BioNTech SE 22UAy.F , as
soon as a safety milestone is achieved in the third week of
November. BioNTech's U.S.-listed shares BNTX.O jumped 2.8%.
"Amid a stagnating labor market, the jump in retail sales
this month suggests consumer strength is pretty robust," said
Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at
E*TRADE Financial LLC in Jersey City.
"While a resilient consumer is a broad positive for the
recovery, today's results could reduce the pressure on lawmakers
to get any stimulus measure through before the election."
Latest data showed U.S. retail sales increased more than
expected in September, though recovery from the recession is at
a crossroads as government money runs out and new COVID-19
infections surge across the country. Trading on Wall Street this week has been dictated by news
about more federal aid to help businesses and households reeling
from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the S&P 500 on
track for its smallest weekly gains in three.
Talks between Democrats and Republicans also seem unlikely
to yield a deal before the Nov. 3 election. President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden
will return to the campaign trail with visits to three
battleground states, a day after the two contenders clashed from
afar during dueling televised town halls. Meanwhile, after a mixed start to the third-quarter earnings
season from the big Wall Street lenders, investors will look
next week to results from Netflix Inc NFLX.O , one of the
technology mega-caps that have benefited from stay-at-home
demand during the pandemic.
Analysts' expectations for S&P 500 companies' earnings have
improved to an 18.8% fall from a 25% tumble forecast three
months earlier.
Schlumberger SLB.N dropped 4.6% after the top oilfield
services provider reported a third straight quarterly loss.
Kansas City Southern KSU.N shed 0.9% as the railroad
operator's quarterly revenue missed estimates, as shipment
volumes fell due to a pandemic-induced fall in service demand.
At 9:41 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 163.50 points, or 0.57%, at 28,657.70, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 13.85 points, or 0.40%, at 3,497.19. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 58.79 points, or 0.50%, at 11,772.66.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors rose. Energy .SPNY and
real estate indexes .SPLRCR were the only ones in the negative
territory.
Boeing Co BA.N rose 4.8% as a report said Europe's
aviation regulator had declared the U.S. planemaker's 737 MAX
safe to fly again. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.06-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.03-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 33 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 41 new highs and six new lows.