US STOCKS-Wall St surges as Congress preps more stimulus and oil bounces back

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* U.S. Senate passes aid package, bill heads to House
* Energy stocks recover following historic oil selloff
* Netflix doubles expected sign-ups as people stay at home
* Indexes: Dow +1.94%, S&P 500 +2.26%, Nasdaq +2.79%

(New throughout, updates prices, market activity and comments)
By Noel Randewich
April 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Wednesday as oil
prices recovered some ground and Congress looked on course to
seal nearly $500 billion more in aid to help small businesses
ride out the coronavirus crisis.
U.S. crude and benchmark Brent prices edged higher after a
collapse in the past two days, sending the S&P 500 energy index
.SPNY up 3.5%.
All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes traded higher as the U.S.
Senate unanimously approved the new relief package, adding to
trillions of dollars in stimulus that have helped Wall Street
rebound from its March lows.
The House of Representatives is expected to clear the bill
on Thursday. "The (stimulus) response times have been way faster than
what you saw in 2008. What you're seeing is the tail risk
removal that stops the equity downturn and allows the market to
actually look," said Anik Sen, global head of equities at
PineBridge Investments in New York.
The benchmark S&P 500 is still 17% below its February record
high as state-wide shutdowns have sparked layoffs and crushed
consumer spending, putting several industries at risk of
collapse.
Estimates for U.S. jobless claims for the latest week ranged
as high as 5.5 million, while a reading on April U.S. factory
activity was likely to fall to levels last seen during the 2008
financial crisis. Both reports are due Thursday.
Analysts have drastically cut their S&P 500 earnings
expectations for the first and second quarters and are now
projecting a corporate recession for 2020, according to IBES
data from Refinitiv.
A week after the big U.S. banks issued dismal 2020
forecasts, consumer discretionary and technology firms fared
slightly better as the lockdown measures boosted demand for
online streaming and home delivery of meals.
"I think this earnings season is really going to be a
function of which companies and which industries are holding up
... and are able to withstand the decline in this market and to
ride it out," said Nancy Perez, senior portfolio manager at
Boston Private Wealth in Miami.
Investors will also be paying close attention to capital
allocation from companies, Perez added, "You have to have the
cash to sustain and ride out to the other side."
Burrito chain Mexican Grill Inc CMG.N jumped 11% after it
reported soaring digital and home delivery sales and said it had
enough cash and liquidity to get through the next year.

Netflix Inc NFLX.O more than doubled its own projections
for new customers in the first quarter. However, its shares fell
2.3% as it forecast a weaker second half if the lockdown
measures were to be lifted. The Russell 2000 index .RUT of U.S. small-cap stocks
rallied 1.3% but it remains down nearly 30% from its February
high, reflecting smaller companies' recent underperformance
companied to Wall Street's largest firms.
"Small caps and mid-caps still haven't seen a recovery, and
that tells me the economy is still in question," warned Ben
Philips, Chief Investment Officer of the EventShares ETF
PLCY.Z .
With volatility the new normal on Wall Street, at 2:20 pm
ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 1.94% at
23,465.51 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 2.26% to
2,798.35.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 2.79% to 8,493.40.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.61-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.84-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 22 new highs and 13 new lows.