US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq at record highs on COVID-19 treatment hopes

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* Apple extends rally, set to cross $500 per share
* Four-day Republican National Convention begins
* Energy, financials, materials sectors sharply higher
* Indexes up: Dow 0.91%, S&P 0.68%, Nasdaq 0.47%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Aug 24 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq scaled new highs
on Monday as a U.S. approval for the emergency use of blood
plasma in COVID-19 patients lifted treatment hopes and spurred
bets of a quicker economic recovery.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's decision to use
antibody-rich plasma from recovered patients was hailed by
President Donald Trump, a day after he accused it of impeding
the rollout of treatments for political reasons. The World Health Organization, however, was cautious about
endorsing the treatment, citing "low quality" evidence that it
works. "The market is responding favorably to the possibilities of
being able to inject antibodies as another form of combating the
virus," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA
Research in New York.
Aiding market sentiment was a report the Trump
administration is considering fast-tracking an experimental
COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Plc AZN.L and Oxford
University for use in the United States before election.
The push for plasma treatment and the speeding up of a
vaccine candidate came in the run up to the Republican National
Convention, which began on Monday. President Trump secured
sufficient votes to lead his party for four more years, kicking
off the final sprint to Nov. 3 Election Day. Ahead of the 4-for-1 share split on Friday, Apple Inc
AAPL.O gained 2% to cross $500 per share for the first time,
providing the biggest boost to the three main indexes.
Economically-sensitive energy .SPNY , financials .SPSY
and materials .SPLRCM , which are lagging the broader market
this year, advanced more than any other major S&P sector.
In the previous session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at
record levels, wrapping up four weeks of gains on bets that
technology focused companies will emerge stronger and the
economy will return to growth on monetary and fiscal support.
The Dow, however, is still about 5% below its February peak.
Meanwhile, the next phase of coronavirus government aid
remained elusive as top Democrats and Republicans continued to
blame each other for stalled talks on the legislation.
A key event this week would be the address by Federal
Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Kansas City Fed's annual
symposium, where he will talk on the monetary policy framework
review.
At 12:34 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 255.47 points, or 0.91%, at 28,185.80, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 23.11 points, or 0.68%, at 3,420.27. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 53.40 points, or 0.47%, at 11,365.20.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.64-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.17-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 45 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 76 new highs and 33 new lows.