US STOCKS-Wall Street hovers near record highs after Biden bounce

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Weekly jobless claims at elevated levels
* Baker Hughes up on view energy downturn to bottom out this
year
* United Airlines slips on fourth straight quarterly loss
* Indexes: Dow, S&P flat; Nasdaq up 0.16%

(Updates to market open)
By Devik Jain and Medha Singh
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes hovered near
record highs on Thursday as investors counted on more pandemic
relief and speedy vaccine rollouts under the Biden
administration to support the economy after data showed a
weakening labor market recovery.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits was
900,000 in the latest week, the Labor Department's report said.
The elevated reading was likely due to a relentless surge in
COVID-19 cases across the country. While the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX and the blue-chip Dow
.DJI were about flat by 10:00 a.m. ET after gaining in the
past two sessions, a jump in shares of technology heavyweights
Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O and Amazon.com Inc
AMZN.O lifted the Nasdaq by 0.2%.
"Markets are definitely priced to perfection," said Chris
Osmond, chief investment officer at Prime Capital Investment
Advisors in Overland Park, Kansas.
"If there are continued mishaps in the rollout of a vaccine,
that could cause a kink in expectations. Also (Biden's proposed
stimulus) is going to be met with opposition not only from the
Republican party but from moderate Democrats, which could also
cause some market anxiety."
Democrats took control of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday and
Republicans in the Congress signaled a willingness to work on
Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan that would enhance jobless
benefits and provide direct checks to households. President Joe Biden is expected to launch an array of
initiatives during his initial days in office, including ramping
up testing and vaccine rollouts. Three of the 11 S&P sectors rose in early trading, with
communication services .SPLRCL and consumer discretionary
.SPLRCD gaining the most.
Energy .SPNY , financial .SPSY and industrial .SPLRCI
stocks, which have helped the S&P 500 rally 14% since the Nov. 3
presidential election, fell between 0.3% and 1.3%.
With valuations near a 20-year high, corporate results could
present an important test of whether the stock market rally has
run ahead of fundamentals. Earnings at S&P 500 companies are expected to rise by 24% in
2021 after falling 15% in 2020, as per Refinitiv data as of Jan.
15.
United Airlines Holdings Inc UAL.O dropped 5.2% after
posting a fourth straight quarterly loss due to the COVID-19
pandemic but said it aims to cut about $2 billion of annual
costs through 2023. Baker Hughes Co BKR.N climbed 1.1% as it joined larger
rival Halliburton Co HAL.N in saying that the energy
industry's worst downturn in decades should bottom out this
year. Pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Inc KMI.N rose 1.2% after
beating Wall Street estimates for quarterly results even as it
raised concerns over the pace of ramp-up in spending in top U.S.
shale basins following a rebound in oil prices. Ford Motor Co F.N jumped 3.6%, extending gains for a
second straight day after Deutsche Bank raised its price target
on the U.S. automaker's stock.