(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Pelosi, Mnuchin hope for COVID-19 relief deal
* Investors wary after chaotic first U.S. presidential
debate
* U.S. private payrolls rise more than expected in Sept -
ADP
* Indexes up: Dow 1.30%, S&P 1.01%, Nasdaq 1.08%
(Adds comments; updates prices)
By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
Sept 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes jumped on
Wednesday, led by industrials and technology-related stocks, as
officials rekindled the idea of an imminent fiscal stimulus
package, while upbeat data suggested a domestic economic
recovery was on track.
U.S. House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin hoped for a breakthrough on
COVID-19 relief as they prepared to resume talks aimed at
hammering out a bipartisan deal. All 11 major S&P indexes were up, with energy .SPNY also
among the biggest gainers, as data showed U.S. private employers
stepped up hiring in September, while the Chicago PMI reading
jumping to 62.4, the highest level since December 2018.
"The market's celebrating at the margin that the economy is
not falling apart quite yet," said Willie Delwiche, investment
strategist at Baird in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
"Pelosi and Mnuchin are (also) talking about meeting again
and if we actually get (more fiscal stimulus), that'd be seen as
a good thing, especially given what seems like a very troubling
political backdrop right now."
The S&P 500 was headed for its first monthly decline since
the coronavirus-led crash in March, with trading becoming more
choppy in the past few weeks on doubts about whether President
Donald Trump would accept the election's outcome if he lost.
In a chaotic and bad-tempered first debate, Trump and
Democratic rival Joe Biden battled fiercely over Trump's record
on the coronavirus pandemic, healthcare and the economy.
"The scenario that poses a significant risk is a contested
result," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at GLOBALT
Investments in Atlanta, Georgia.
Analysts said stock markets could also see quarter-end
rebalancing of investor portfolios on Wednesday, as the previous
session was marked by market participants booking profits after
a strong start to the week.
Despite the expected weakness in September, the S&P 500 was
on course for its best two-quarter winning streak since 2009 and
the Nasdaq since 2000.
At 11:05 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 1.30% with Boeing Co BA.N and Goldman Sachs Group Inc
GS.N among the biggest boosts to the blue-chip index.
The S&P 500 .SPX rose 1.01% and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 1.08%.
Heavyweight tech mega-caps including Apple Inc AAPL.O ,
Facebook Inc FB.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O , Netflix Inc
NFLX.O and Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O rose between 0.6% and 1.7%.
Investors now await a more detailed jobs report from the
Labor Department on Friday.
Moderna Inc MRNA.O gained 2.4% after researchers said its
COVID-19 vaccine candidate produced virus-neutralizing
antibodies in older adults at levels similar to those seen in
younger adults in an early safety study. Micron Technology Inc MU.O slipped 4.8% after the
chipmaker said it has not yet obtained new licenses needed to
sell its memory chips to China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
HWT.UL , which would cut its sales over the next two quarters.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 3.14-to-1 on the NYSE
and 2.20-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded nine new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 43 new highs and 19 new lows.