US STOCKS-Wall St gains on Disney's surprise profit, fiscal aid hopes

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* U.S. services sector activity hits 16-month high in July
* Walt Disney hits over 5-month high
* Energy stocks gain as oil prices jump over 3%
* CVS, Humana, Regeneron deliver profit beat
* Indexes up: Dow 1.33%, S&P 0.68%, Nasdaq 0.34%

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By Medha Singh and Ambar Warrick
Aug 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on
Wednesday following upbeat services industry survey and Disney's
surprise quarterly profit, with sentiment aided by signs that a
coronavirus fiscal relief package was imminent.
White House negotiators on Tuesday vowed to work "around the
clock" with congressional Democrats to try to reach a deal on
the package by the end of this week. "The Democrats and the Republicans have to come together
like The Beatles' 1969 release," said Gerald Sparrow, chief
investment officer of the Sparrow Growth Fund in St. Louis,
Missouri.
"My forecast is that they do come to an agreement, they do
provide more stimulus, and the market moves higher on that."
Walt Disney Co's DIS.N shares jumped 10.5%, providing the
biggest boost the S&P 500 and the Dow as revenue declines for
its parks and media networks were not as bad as feared.
Drugstore operator and health insurer CVS Health Corp
CVS.N topped estimates for quarterly profit and raised its
full-year forecast, while Humana Inc HUM.N and drugmaker
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN.O also posted
forecast-beating earnings. "The analysts were too pessimistic for the second quarter,
and corporate America and consumers refused to stand down,"
Sparrow said.
Better-than-feared corporate results and a surge in shares
of heavyweight technology companies have fueled a
stimulus-driven rally in Wall Street's main indexes, bringing
the S&P 500 within 2% of its record high hit in February.
Meanwhile, U.S. services industry gained momentum in July,
according to an ISM survey, as new orders jumped to a record
high. But investors have also been concerned about signs that the
U.S. economic activity is stalling amid a surge in cases of the
novel coronavirus in parts of the country.
The ISM survey also showed that hiring declined, supporting
views that a recovery in the labor market was faltering.
Earlier in the day, the ADP report, considered a precursor
to the monthly jobs report on Friday, showed U.S. private
payrolls increased by 167,000 in July, far below economists
expectations of 1.5 million additions.
Among sectors, financials .SPSY , industrials .SPLRCI and
materials .SPLRCM , that track economic growth, outperformed
among major S&P sectors. The energy index .SPNY rose 1.8% as
oil prices hit their highest since early-March. O/R
At 11:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 356.07 points, or 1.33%, at 27,184.54, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 22.35 points, or 0.68%, at 3,328.86. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 37.48 points, or 0.34%, at 10,978.64.
Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rose about 1% after it said the
United States government would pay over $1 billion for 100
million doses of its investigational coronavirus vaccine.
Electric trucks maker Nikola Corporation NKLA.O slumped
11.1% after it reported a wider quarterly loss in its first
results as a listed entity. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.62-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.80-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 43 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 187 new highs and eight new lows.