US STOCKS-Dow ends at record high after upbeat jobless claims report

* Weekly jobless claims fall more than expected

* Pharma slides as Biden backs COVID-19 vaccine IP waiver

* Regeneron up on better-than-expected quarterly profit

* Indexes: Dow +0.93%, S&P 500 +0.82%, Nasdaq +0.37%

(Updates with price moves after the close)

By Shreyashi Sanyal and Krystal Hu

May 6 (Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI closed at a record high on Thursday, bolstered by an upbeat weekly jobless claims report, while vaccine makers dipped after U.S. President Joe Biden backed plans to waive patents on COVID-19 shots.

Lifted by Apple Inc AAPL.O , the S&P 500 rose after a Labor Department report showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 498,000 for the week ended May 1, compared with 590,000 in the prior week. were awaiting a more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report on Friday for clues on the strength of the labor market and potentially the U.S. Federal Reserve's stance on monetary policy.

"Investors are encouraged by the low-interest rates and the stimulus that the government is putting into the economy. We're also seeing substantial increases in economic projections and earnings forecasts," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

Pharmaceutical companies dropped after the White House said Biden made the decision to back a proposed waiver for COVID-19 vaccine intellectual property rights. in Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE ) PFE.N and Moderna Inc MRNA.O fell 1% or more. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ ) JNJ.N and Novavax Inc NVAX.O ended higher after spending much of the day in negative territory. Nasdaq biotechnology index .NBI dropped 0.4%.

Moderna's shares cut some losses after it said countries around the globe would continue buying its COVID-19 vaccine for years even if patents on the shots are waived. S&P 500 financials index .SPSY was the top performer among the 11 sectors, gaining 1.4%.

"One sector we are seeing a lot of opportunities in is the financial sector. We see it as one that should benefit from higher interest rates and a stronger economic recovery," said Ann Guntli, portfolio manager at Chicago-based RMB Capital.

Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , Apple AAPL.O , Facebook FB.O and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O rose more than 1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.93% to end at 34,548.53 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.82% to 4,201.62.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC climbed 0.37% to 13,632.84.

In extended trade, Square (NYSE: SQ ) SQ.N rose 3% after the mobile payments company announced a 266% jump in quarterly total net revenue. the trading session, Costco Wholesale COST.O jumped 2.75% after the retailer said late on Wednesday that its April sales surged 33.5%. That rally helped push the S&P 500 consumers staple index higher. Pharmaceuticals Inc REGN.O rose 3.37% after the drugmaker reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and said it expected demand for its COVID-19 antibody therapy to hold up. Technologies Inc UBER.N tumbled 8.85% after it signaled it would pay drivers more to get cars back on the road as the pandemic recedes, and disclosed a $600 million charge to provide UK drivers with benefits. issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.33-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.38-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 121 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118 new highs and 155 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11 billion shares, compared with the 10 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.