US STOCKS-Wall Street rises on latest Fed rescue program

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* Weekly jobless claims top 6 mln
* Financials sector biggest boost to S&P 500
* Oil turns lower as major producers work on deal to cut
output

(Updates to mid-afternoon, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose for the third
time in four days on Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve
unleashed its latest program designed to buttress local
governments and businesses crushed by moves to slow the
coronavirus outbreak.
In the $2.3 trillion package, the Fed said it would work
with banks to offer four-year loans to companies of up to 10,000
employees and directly buy bonds of states and more populous
counties and cities. "It was unexpected and it has definitely given a shot in the
arm not only to the overall equity market but also the high
yield market," said Sal Bruno, chief investment officer at
IndexIQ in New York.
The financial index .SPSY was up 4.11%, providing the
biggest boost to the S&P 500 .SPX , as banks rose sharply on
the Fed's backstop. J.P. Morgan JPM.N rose over 7.50%, leading
gains on the Dow .DJI . Shares of iBoxx High Yield Corporate
Bond Fund HYG.P climbed 5.92%. That helped take the sting out of another tough report on
the labor market, with weekly initial jobless claims topping the
6 million mark for a second straight week. The defensive real estate .SPLRCR and utilities .SPLRCU
sectors also rose more than 4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 191.56 points,
or 0.82%, to 23,625.13, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 25.36 points,
or 0.92%, to 2,775.34 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
11.85 points, or 0.15%, to 8,102.75.
The S&P 500 has gained more than 12% in the
holiday-shortened week on early signs of the outbreak hitting a
peak and aggressive global stimulus, on track for its best
weekly performance since 1974. The Dow, up nearly 13%, was
poised for its biggest weekly percentage gain since 1938.
If gains hold through the day, the benchmark index would
have logged its best week since October 1974.
While public health experts stressed the need to keep people
apart to contain the contagion, the restrictions have strangled
the economy and sparked widespread production cuts, layoffs and
projections of a severe recession.
In a sign that the disease's curve was flattening in New
York, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, New York Governor
Andrew Cuomo said new hospitalizations fell to a fresh low of
200, although deaths spiked to another new high.
Major averages were well off their earlier highs, however,
as oil prices reversed course and turned lower as OPEC and its
allies held talks about production cuts, sending the energy
sector .SPNY down 3.63%.
"The fact they are at the table, virtually talking, is a
decent sign, probably not a great sign, but a decent sign," said
Bruno.
Walt Disney Co DIS.N jumped 3.57%, as the company said its
Disney+ streaming service had attracted more than 50 million
paid users globally. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
5.30-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.88-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 5 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 14 new highs and 8 new lows.