US STOCKS-Wall Street set to end pandemic year on strong note

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* S&P 500 set for over 15% gain on stimulus, vaccine support
* Weekly jobless claims fall for second straight week
* Indexes: Dow up 0.03%, S&P up 0.10%, Nasdaq down 0.04%

(Updates to open)
By Devik Jain and Supriya R
Dec 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were flat in thin trading on
Thursday, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set to end 2020
with solid gains on hopes of more stimulus and coronavirus
vaccines to support the domestic economy.
The three main indexes surged to record highs this week in a
stunning recovery since March when the COVID-19 pandemic
triggered the steepest global recession in generations and left
millions of Americans unemployed.
While the virus continues to take its toll on the economy,
unprecedented stimulus from the central bank and the government
have helped the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX climb almost 70%
from its March low, putting it on course for a more than 15%
gain this year.
A U.S. Labor Department report showed the number of
Americans filing claims for jobless benefits fell for the second
straight week, but remain elevated more than nine months into
the economic crisis. Six of the major S&P 500 sub-sectors edged lower in early
trading, with energy .SPNY , industrials .SPLRCI and
materials .SPLRCM falling after recent gains.
The Nasdaq .IXIC was set to record a 43% jump in what
could be its best yearly performance since 2009, benefiting from
a surge in tech mega-caps such as Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O ,
Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O , Facebook Inc FB.O
and Netflix Inc NFLX.O .
A favorable U.S. election outcome and optimism around
vaccines rollouts sparked a rally in risky assets in November,
but the momentum stalled on worries over fresh fiscal stimulus
and a new, highly infectious COVID-19 variant spreading
globally. "Vaccine versus accelerating cases... that will be the story
of the market for the first couple of months," said Christopher
Grisanti, chief equity strategist at MAI Capital Management.
"The vaccine will win. The market remains strong in the first
half of 2021."
Near-term expectations of bigger stimulus checks dimmed
after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a quick
vote on Wednesday to back President Donald Trump's call to
increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000 from $600.
All eyes are on two U.S. Senate races in Georgia next week
that will determine control of the chamber and influence
Democratic President-elect Joe Biden's ability to enact his
agenda. At 10:04 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 8.54 points, or 0.03%, at 30,418.10, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 3.61 points, or 0.10%, at 3,735.65, and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 5.69 points, or 0.04%, at 12,864.31.
Trading volumes are likely to remain light on New Year's Eve
and the markets are closed on Friday.
Shares of Tribune Publishing Co TPCO.O rose 9.4% after its
largest shareholder, Alden Global Capital, offered to take full
control of the owner of the Chicago Tribune in a deal that
values the newspaper chain at $520.6 million. Travel-related stocks were among the biggest decliners as
investors locked in profits after a recent rally.
The S&P 1500 airlines index .SPCOMAIR fell 1.3%, while
cruise operators Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N ,
Carnival Corp CCL.N and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N
slipped between 3.9% and 2.3%.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.49-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.19-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 55 new highs and nine new lows.