NEW YORK: Wall Street's main indexes rose on the first day of the fourth quarter on Thursday as investors bet in favour of more fiscal stimulus after data showed the pace of a domestic economic rebound was slowing.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, although gains were led by real estate and utilities, pointing to a broader risk-off mood.

The consumer discretionary index, which houses Amazon.com Inc, and the information technology sector also gained as investors flocked to stocks considered relatively safe during heightened economic uncertainty.

Shares of major US airlines headed higher as White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the Trump administration was open to standalone legislation to help the industry ride out the recession.

At 12:49 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.51%, the S&P 500 was up 0.62% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.08%.

Boeing Co rose 1.5% a day after Federal Aviation Administration Chief Steve Dickson conducted a 737 MAX test flight, a milestone for the jet to win approval to resume flying after two fatal crashes.