US STOCKS-Wall St treads water after record rally on economic rebound hopes

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Snap Inc rises after rating upgrade
* Economy-linked stocks outperform
* Job openings rise more than expected in Feb
* Indexes: Dow flat, S&P up 0.08%, Nasdaq rises 0.10%

(Updates to market open)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
April 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes treaded water
on Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines a day after the
S&P 500 and the Dow closed at record highs on renewed recovery
hopes.
The S&P 500 has risen for three straight sessions with
volatility index .VIX retreating to pre-pandemic lows, driven
by fiscal stimulus packages and swift COVID-19 vaccinations in
the United States.
Areas of the market expected to benefit the most from a
reopening economy - energy .SPNY , financials .SPSY
industrials - outperformed on Tuesday. The small-cap Russell
2000 .RUT added about 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Transports
index .DJT edged 0.2% higher.
"The reasons for optimism are the COVID winter is coming to
an end and with the vaccines we can see the light at the end of
the tunnel. There seems to be a spring in the economy," said
Darren Schuringa, chief executive officer of ASYMmetric ETFs in
New York.
"We're seeing broad-based strength and that's a positive.
This trend that economically sensitive sectors outperform
broader markets will continue if the economy continues to
expand."
Tech and other growth stocks have awakened after lagging in
recent weeks behind so-called value stocks expected to
outperform as the economy emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq is now about 3% from its February
record high after falling as much as 12% from that level.
Progress in President Joe Biden's new infrastructure
proposal and the start of the earnings season in the coming
weeks could dictate the course of stock markets, analysts said.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings increased more than
expected in February. The data follows blowout employment as
well as service sector reports for March. At 9:56 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 16.38 points, or 0.05%, at 33,510.81, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 3.40 points, or 0.08%, at 4,081.31. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC rose 14.35 points, or 0.10%, at 13,719.94.
Snap Inc SNAP.N jumped 6.5% after Atlantic Equities
upgraded its rating on the photo-messaging app owner's shares to
"overweight" from "neutral". Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N added 2.4% as it
said it would begin sailing outside the United States from the
Caribbean and Greek Isles in July, restarting trips after a
year-long hiatus brought on by the pandemic. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.55-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.01-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 17 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 58 new highs and five new lows.