US STOCKS-Wall Street climbs to record as fiscal aid bill signed

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* Markets rise on recovery hopes
* Tesla up on report of India entry next year
* Airlines, cruise operators climb

(Updates to market close)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rallied on Monday,
with each of Wall Street's main indexes closing at record levels
as President Donald Trump's signing of a long-awaited $2.3
trillion pandemic aid bill increased optimism for an economic
recovery.
In a sudden reversal late on Sunday, Trump backed down from
his threat to block the hard-fought bill, restoring unemployment
benefits to millions of Americans and averting a federal
government shutdown. "It's a positive tone to the U.S. market and part of that is
the signing of stimulus package by Trump, which appeared to be
in doubt but is finally been accomplished," said Tim Ghriskey,
chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.
"We still have a follow-on to the Christmas rally and the
favorable market we've had for a while here," he added.
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
207.58 points, or 0.69%, to 30,407.45, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
32.34 points, or 0.87%, to 3,735.4 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 94.69 points, or 0.74%, to 12,899.42.
Stocks battered by coronavirus lockdowns, such as airlines
and cruise lines, advanced. The S&P 1500 airlines index
.SPCOMAIR gained as carriers are set to receive $15 billion in
addition payroll assistance under the new government aid.
Cruise operators Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N ,
Carnival Corp CCL.N and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd
NCLH.N each rose by at least 3%
On a sector basis, gains were led by communication services
.SPLRCL , consumer discretionary .SPLRCD and tech .SPLRCT
as each climbed more than 1%.
After a sharp recovery from a coronavirus crash in March,
the S&P 500 is on track to rise more than 15% this year on the
back of a loose monetary policy and a COVID-19 vaccine program
that has raised hopes the economic environment will improve.
Despite the generally favorable conditions for equities,
worries over a resurgence in coronavirus cases, upcoming U.S.
Senate runoffs in Georgia and stretched valuations could become
headwinds. The forward price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P is
currently about 22.2, well above its long-term average of 15.3.

Trading volumes are expected to be thin in the final week of
the year that has historically been a seasonally strong period
for equities.
Democrats in the U.S. Congress on Monday will put to vote a
proposal for higher pandemic relief payments for Americans,
although it appears unlikely to gain traction in the
Republican-controlled Senate. Adding to a global appetite for risk, Britain and the
European Union clinched a lean post-Brexit trade deal on
Thursday, while a mass COVID-19 vaccination drive in Europe was
launched over the weekend. Tesla Inc TSLA.O advanced after a report that the
electric-car maker will start operations in India early next
year. Lockheed Martin Corp LMT.N edged up after the fighter jet
maker said it delivered 123 F-35 jets in 2020, near the top end
of its revised outlook.