(Updates with afternoon trading)

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Nebius ( NBIS ) soars on $17.4 billion deal with Microsoft ( MSFT )

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) sees in-line top-rated Medicare plan

memberships

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Albemarle slides on lithium supply easing concerns

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S&P 500 +0.22%, Nasdaq +0.20%, Dow +0.46%

By Purvi Agarwal and Noel Randewich

Sept 9 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 climbed toward a record

high on Tuesday, lifted by a rally in UnitedHealth ( UNH ), while a

downward payrolls revision supported expectations the Federal

Reserve will soon cut interest rates to shore up economic

growth.

The U.S. economy likely created 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12

months through March than previously estimated, the government

said, suggesting that job growth was already stalling before

President Donald Trump launched his global tariffs.

Financial markets have priced in a 25 basis point cut at the

Fed's policy meeting next week, and futures trading suggests a

nearly 10% chance of a 50 basis point cut, according to CME's

FedWatch tool.

Recent nonfarm payroll data for July and August also pointed

to weakening labor market conditions.

"This does nothing to dissuade the Fed from moving 25 basis

points," said Paul Nolte, a market strategist at Murphy &

Sylvest in Chicago, about the payrolls revision. "We don't know

month by month and won't for a few more months yet, but it

points out that labor is weak."

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) jumped 9% after it said it expects

enrollment in top-rated Medicare insurance plans to be in line

with its expectations, which could mean bigger payments from the

government to the health insurer.

The S&P 500 was up 0.22% at 6,509.47 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.20% to 21,842.45 points, while the Dow

Jones Industrial Average was up 0.46% at 45,722.08 points.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by

communication services, up 1.49%.

The Nasdaq notched a record high close on Monday, and the

S&P 500 was just below its intraday record high set last Friday.

The S&P 500 energy index was up 1.5% after Israel attacked Hamas

leaders in Qatar's capital city, Doha.

Shares of Apple fell 1.4% after the company unveiled new iPhones

that failed to excite investors.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) fell more than 2% after the world's second

most valuable chipmaker gained in the five previous sessions.

Investors will focus on a producer inflation report on

Wednesday and consumer prices data on Thursday to gauge the

impact of Trump's tariff policies, and whether a case could be

made for more aggressive interest rate cuts.

Nebius ( NBIS ) soared 53% after the AI infrastructure firm

signed a $17.4 billion deal with Microsoft ( MSFT ). Rival

CoreWeave ( CRWV ) rose 6%.

Class B shares of Fox Corp and News Corp dipped

5.5% and 4.1% respectively. Rupert Murdoch and his children

reached an agreement that will give the eldest son, Lachlan

Murdoch, control over the media empire.

Albemarle plunged 11% due to easing supply concerns

after Chinese battery company CATL expects to resume production

at a lithium mine.

Oracle traded near flat ahead of its quarterly

report after the bell, with investors looking for a reading of

AI demand across the technology sector.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500

by a 1.3-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 17 new highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq

recorded 84 new highs and 60 new lows.