US STOCKS-Wall St edges higher as investors cling to stimulus hopes

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* Weekly jobless claims dip below 800,000, but remain
elevated
* Tesla rises after fifth straight quarterly profit
* Coca-Cola up after results beat
* Indexes up: Dow 0.12%, S&P 0.24%, Nasdaq 0.41%

(Updates to open)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
Oct 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes edged higher
on Thursday as investors held out for more fiscal stimulus
against the backdrop of economic data pointing to a slowing
labor market recovery.
The number of Americans filing for state unemployment
benefits last week dropped more than expected to 787,000, but
remained stubbornly high as support from fiscal stimulus
faded. "There is still hope for stimulus talks, but the market is
getting more and more unsure whether or not it's going to
happen," said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist and
senior portfolio manager at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.
"Anybody who is realistic about it realizes that the
stimulus is not going to come until sometime after the
election."
Wall Street's main indexes swung between gains and losses
this week following a flurry of reports related to progress in
the stimulus talks. The CBOE Market Volatility index .VIX rose
for the eighth time in nine sessions on Thursday.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said negotiators were making
progress in ongoing talks with the Trump administration for
another round of financial aid. Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have been
negotiating a relief bill near the $2 trillion mark, a prospect
that faces opposition from Senate Republicans who have expressed
concern about the potential impact on an already ballooning
federal deficit.
All eyes will be on the final presidential debate on
Thursday night, where Trump will attempt to change the
trajectory of the race that Democratic challenger Joe Biden
seems to be leading, according to national polls. Six of the 11 major S&P sectors rose with the healthcare
index .SPLRHC adding 1.1%.
At 9:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 34.40 points, or 0.12%, at 28,245.22, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 8.36 points, or 0.24%, at 3,443.92. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 47.41 points, or 0.41%, at 11,532.11.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O climbed 3.0% after the electric-car maker
reported its fifth consecutive quarterly profit and record
revenue of $8.8 billion. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc CMG.N fell 6.3% as it posted a
drop in quarterly profit, hurt by higher beef prices, delivery
costs and coronavirus-related expenses. Among blue-chip companies, Coca-Cola Co KO.N gained 1.8%
as it beat quarterly results expectations, while chemicals maker
Dow Inc DOW.N rose 1.0% after it surpassed quarterly profit
estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners 1.68-to-1 on the NYSE
and 1.77-to-1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded eight new 52-week highs and no new
low, while the Nasdaq recorded 28 new highs and 10 new lows.