US STOCKS-Wall Street surges after record rise in May retail sales

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* Industrial, financial, energy stocks jump
* Retail sales increases 17.7% in May
* Indexes up: Dow 2.95%, S&P 2.60%, Nasdaq 2.09%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped on Tuesday after a
record rise in May retail sales revived hopes of a swift
post-pandemic economic rebound, with sentiment also lifted by
data showing reduced COVID-19 death rates in a trial of a
generic steroid drug.
A Commerce Department report showed overall retail receipts
rose 17.7% last month as Americans resumed spending after weeks
of lockdown, although the rebound retraces only a fraction of
the historic drops in March and April. Retailers Kohl's Corp KSS.N and Nordstrom Inc JWN.N
surged 11% and 12%, respectively, leading gains on the S&P 500
.SPX .
Results from a UK-led trial showed giving low doses of the
generic steroid drug dexamethasone to patients admitted to
hospital with COVID-19 reduced death rates by around a third
among those with the most severe cases of infection.
"Looking at this morning's number in aggregate, this is
another indicator that a V-shaped recovery could be more likely
than we initially thought," said Mike Loewengart, managing
director of investment strategy at E*TRADE Financial Corp.
"A potential COVID-19 steroid treatment in the UK combined
with record retail sales and news of additional stimulus has
been met with unbridled optimism."
U.S. stocks ended a volatile session higher on Monday as the
Federal Reserve said it would start buying corporate bonds to
infuse liquidity. A report overnight said the Trump
administration was preparing a nearly $1 trillion infrastructure
proposal. Investors will keep a close watch on a live telecast of Fed
Chair Jerome Powell's two-day testimony before the Congress,
which is expected to begin at 10 a.m. ET. Powell's remarks are set to come after the U.S. central bank
issued a grim outlook last week, sparking a pullback in a stock
market rally that has powered the Nasdaq .IXIC to fresh record
highs.
The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX is now about 7% below its
record high hit four months earlier after coming within 5% of
that level early last week.
At 9:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 759.62 points, or 2.95%, at 26,522.78, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 79.87 points, or 2.60%, at 3,146.46. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 203.36 points, or 2.09%, at 9,929.38.
All 11 S&P sub-indexes were trading higher, with
economically-sensitive industrial .SPLRCI , financial .SPSY
and materials .SPLRCM climbing between 3.9% and 4.6%.
Caterpillar Inc CAT.N jumped 7% and Boeing Co BA.N 7.8%,
leading gains on the blue-chip Dow Jones.
Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N jumped 11% after its breast cancer
therapy Verzenio met the main goal of reducing the risk of it
returning in the early stages in a late-stage study.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners more than 13-to-1 on
the NYSE and 7-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded three new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 64 new highs and one new low.