US STOCKS-Wall Street closes higher, trade choppy as U.S. stimulus talks eyed

* U.S. House Speaker Pelosi reports progress on stimulus
talks
* Weekly jobless claims dip below 800,000, but remain
elevated
* Tesla rises after fifth straight quarterly profit
* Coca-Cola up after results beat forecasts
* U.S. FDA approves Gilead's COVID drug

(Updates with official closing numbers, adds FDA approval of
Gilead vaccine)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Shares on Wall Street ended
higher on Thursday in choppy trading, as investors cheered the
prospect of more fiscal stimulus to support a pandemic-damaged
U.S. economy, with more data pointing to a slowing labor market
recovery.
Trading on Wall Street this week has been driven by a flurry
of reports related to developments in the stimulus talks.
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi reported
progress in talks with the Trump administration for another
round of financial aid and said legislation could be hammered
out "pretty soon". However, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow cautioned
"significant policy differences" remained, which were unlikely
to be resolved before the Nov. 3 election.
"These stimulus rumors continue to swirl," said Mike
Zigmont, head of trading at Harvest Volatility Management. "But
I think the market is getting accustomed to these rumors and
each new rumor has less of an impact than it used to."
He was also not confident that another stimulus deal would
pave the way for another bullish trend in stocks.
"The second stimulus as a topic has been kicking around for
so long. The bulk of the economic consequences has already been
baked into stock prices," Zigmont said.
"And now it is strictly an emotional issue, a
perception-in-the-market type of issue."
Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been
negotiating a relief bill near the $2 trillion mark, a sum
opposed by Senate Republicans who have expressed concern about
the federal deficit.
Also on Thursday, data showed the number of Americans filing
for state unemployment benefits last week dropped more than
expected to 787,000, but remained stubbornly high as support
from fiscal stimulus faded. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI closed 152.84 points
higher, or 0.54%, to 28,363.66, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 17.93
points, or 0.52%, to 3,453.49 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
added 21.31 points, or 0.19%, to 11,506.01.
Energy .SPNY and financials .SPSY rose 4.16% and 1.88%,
respectively, posting the steepest gains among the major S&P
sectors.
Investors will monitor the final presidential debate on
Thursday night between Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden
who is ahead in national polls. After the bell, shares of Gilead Sciences Inc . GILD.O rose
3.16% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the late
afternoon approved its antiviral drug Veklury, or remdesivir,
for the treatment of patients with COVID-19, requiring
hospitalization. Meanwhile, about a fifth of S&P 500 companies have reported
third-quarter results, of which 84.1% beat earnings estimates,
according to IBES Refinitiv data.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O climbed 0.7% after the electric-car maker
reported its fifth consecutive quarterly profit on record
revenue of $8.8 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG.N fell 4.8% as it posted a
drop in quarterly profit, hurt by higher beef prices, delivery
costs and coronavirus-related expenses. Among blue-chip companies, Coca-Cola Co KO.N gained 1.4%
as it beat quarterly results expectations, while chemicals maker
Dow Inc DOW.N fell 0.6% even as it surpassed quarterly profit
estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.90-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.68-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 23 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 57 new highs and 32 new lows.