US STOCKS-Vaccine optimism, improving data lift Wall Street

* Early positive results for Pfizer, BioNTech vaccine
candidate
* U.S. marks record single-day spike in virus cases
* FedEx jumps on quarterly profit, revenue beat
* Dow up 0.04%, S&P 500 up 0.62%, Nasdaq up 0.95%

(Adds details on FOMC minutes, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks moved higher on
Wednesday as rising hopes of a safe and effective COVID-19
vaccine eased concerns another round of lockdowns was likely
following a record surge in coronavirus cases in the United
States.
Pfizer Inc's PFE.N shares rose nearly 5% after the
drugmaker said a COVID-19 vaccine being developed with German
biotech firm BioNTech BNTX.O showed promise and was found to
be well-tolerated in early-stage human trials. The gains made Pfizer shares one of the top boosts to both
the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials while U.S.-listed shares of
BioNTech gained more than 8%, helping improve the mood on Wall
Street after the United States registered 47,000 new coronavirus
cases on Tuesday, the biggest one-day spike since the start of
the pandemic. Investors were also encouraged by some upbeat economic data
as coronavirus-induced lockdowns have eased. A report on
Wednesday showed a slump in global manufacturing had ebbed in
June, with U.S. figures hitting their highest level in more than
a year. On Thursday, all eyes will be on the Labor Department's
nonfarm payrolls report.
"The macro data came in a little warmer than expected, which
is nice, obviously nonfarm payrolls tomorrow is the big deal and
the Pfizer vaccine news got everyone optimistically thinking,"
said Mike Zigmont, head of trading and research at Harvest
Volatility Management in New York.
Zigmont cautioned, however, that the market has been
expecting a vaccine by early 2021 and without one a strong
economic recovery is unlikely.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 9.87 points, or
0.04%, to 25,822.75, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 19.34 points, or
0.62%, to 3,119.63 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 95.64
points, or 0.95%, to 10,154.40.
Updates on the progress in various COVID-19 vaccine programs
are being closely watched by investors, and have been partly
responsible for Wall Street's recent rally.
The S&P 500 .SPX closed its best quarter since 1998 on
Tuesday, fueled also by unprecedented levels of fiscal and
monetary stimulus. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's June
policy meeting showed policymakers broadly agreed to make full
use of the tools at the central bank's disposal to support a
recovery from the recession triggered by the coronavirus
pandemic.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its index of
national factory activity jumped to a reading of 52.6 last month
from 43.1 in May, ending three straight months of contraction,
or readings below 50.
The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed U.S.
private payrolls increased by 2.369 million jobs, but still less
than expected in June.
Drugmaker Amgen Inc AMGN.O climbed 8.1% after a federal
appeals court upheld two patents for the drugmaker's
multibillion-dollar rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel.
FedEx Corp FDX.N jumped nearly 12% after posting
better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, helped by a
surge in pandemic-fueled home deliveries. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.14-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.25-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 75 new highs and 10 new lows.