US STOCKS-Wall Street shares close higher on stimulus hopes

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* Pelosi optimistic about a stimulus deal
* P&G gains after full-year sales forecast raise
* Netflix shares ease ahead of results
* U.S. DOJ, 11 states file anti-trust lawsuit vs Google
* Indexes up: Dow closes up 1.01%, S&P 500 up 1.12%, Nasdaq
up
0.99%

(Updates prices to close, adds new comment)
By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
NEW YORK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Shares on Wall Street ended
higher on Tuesday on growing optimism that talks among U.S.
lawmakers are progressing with respect to a U.S. stimulus
package aimed at cushioning the economic shock from the
coronavirus pandemic.
House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was
optimistic Democrats could reach a deal with the White House
that could get aid out by early next month. She added there
should be an indication of a possible agreement later on
Tuesday. "I think no matter who gets elected, we will get the
stimulus," said Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist, at
Reynolds Strategy.
"The current headlines are short term in nature. Eventually,
they would get together and produce more stimulus for the
economy because all the sectors that are lagging need it badly,"
he added.
Uncertainty over the coronavirus aid package weighed on Wall
Street's main indexes on Monday and analysts expect market
turbulence to increase with only two weeks left until Election
Day.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
111.76 points, or 0.4%, to 28,307.18, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
16.15 points, or 0.47%, to 3,443.07 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 36.36 points, or 0.32%, to 11,515.34.
All 11 major S&P sectors were up, with financials .SPNY ,
industrials .SPLRCI and consumer discretionary .SPLRCD
stocks underpinning gains.
The U.S. Justice Department and 11 states, meanwhile, filed
an antitrust lawsuit against Alphabet Inc's GOOGL.O Google for
allegedly breaking the law in using its market power to fend off
rivals. Alphabet's shares were up 2.4%. "It's like locking the proverbial door after the horse has
bolted," said Neil Campling, head of TMT research at Mirabaud
Securities in London.
"Google has already got the monopolistic position, has
invested billions in infrastructure, AI, technologies, software,
engineering and talent. You can't simply unwind a decade of
significant progress, or create new alternative powerhouses or
tech ecosystems out of thin air."
Meanwhile, the third-quarter earnings season has gathered
momentum. Of the 66 S&P 500 companies that have reported
results, 86.4% have topped expectations for earnings, according
to Refinitiv IBES data.
Property and casualty insurer Travelers Cos Inc TRV.N
gained as it beat quarterly profit expectations, while consumer
products giant Procter & Gamble Co PG.N advanced as it raised
its full-year sales and earnings forecasts. Netflix Inc NFLX.O was down ahead of its third-quarter
earnings report. International Business Machines Corp IBM.N edged past
estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday, bolstered by higher
demand for its cloud services. The company's shares, however,
fell after it stayed away from issuing a current-quarter
outlook, citing economic uncertainty related to the pandemic.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
2.29-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.20-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 68 new highs and 29 new lows.