US STOCKS-Wall St at record high as Democrats take control of Senate

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* Walgreens top gainer on Dow after profit beat

* Weekly jobless claims dip unexpectedly

* DXC jumps on $10 bln takeover offer from French rival

* Indexes up: Dow 0.7%, S&P 1.4%, Nasdaq 2.4% (Adds comment, details; Updates prices)

By Medha Singh and Devik Jain

Jan 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street hit record levels on Thursday as market participants bet on more coronavirus relief aid under a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress to help the economy ride out a steep pandemic-induced downturn.

Investors shrugged off growing calls for President Donald Trump's removal and a staff exodus on Thursday, one day after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy. market is now looking past Trump and it's looking forward to a Biden presidency, more structure and stimulus," said Dennis Dick, a trader at Bright Trading LLC.

"A Democratic Congress is going to obviously be more concerned about the small businesses, and the Main Street."

Economy-linked financials .SPSY jumped 1.5%, while industrial .SPLRCI and materials .SPLRCM sectors hovered near record highs on expectations that President-elect Joe Biden would line up a bigger fiscal package and boost infrastructure spending. seeing a reflation trade on the assumption that a more progressive and aggressive fiscal stimulus package could be in the offing," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at GlobAlt in Atlanta.

Rate-sensitive bank shares .SPXBK gained 2.7%, tracking a surge in the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield . US/

The S&P 500 technology .SPLRCT index, up 2.4%, was set to more than make up for its losses from a day earlier, when shares of some of the biggest technology companies dropped on fears of increased regulation.

The NYSE FANG+TM index .NYFANG , which includes the core FAANG group of stocks that have led the Wall Street rally from pandemic lows, gained 2.5%.

At 01:35 p.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 228.82 points, or 0.74%, to 31,058.22, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 53.51 points, or 1.43%, to 3,801.69, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 302.87 points, or 2.38%, to 13,043.33.

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits unexpectedly dipped last week, while staying elevated, a Labor Department report showed, with the job market recovery appearing to stall as the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to overwhelm the country. more stimulus coming, even if we do have a miss on claims, it's going to be a little bit less severe, because we know there's going to be a bigger back up for those who are recently unemployed," said Max Gokhman, head of asset allocation at Pacific Life Fund Advisors in Newport Beach, California.

Investors are now awaiting a comprehensive December jobs report, which is expected on Friday.

DXC Technology Co DXC.N surged 7% as France's IT consulting group Atos SE ATOS.PA made a more than $10 billion takeover approach for its U.S. rival, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. maker Tesla Inc TSLA.O jumped 6.4% to a record high, with its chief and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk surpassing Amazon.com Inc's AMZN.O top boss Jeff Bezos to become the world's richest man, according to a report. Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O advanced 6%, leading gains among Dow components .DJI , after it beat analysts' estimates for adjusted quarterly profit, driven by higher sales at its retail pharmacy stores and higher prescription volumes. issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.5-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 93 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 477 new highs and 15 new lows.