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Q2 GDP second estimate shows US economy grows 3%

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CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) slips on FY forecast cut after global tech

outage

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Salesforce ( CRM ) gains after upbeat quarterly results

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Apple ( AAPL ) gains after Citigroup selects company as top AI pick

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Futures up: Dow 0.10%, S&P 500 0.36%, Nasdaq 0.89%

(Updated at 9:48 a.m. ET/ 1348 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on

Thursday, as investors were relieved after data showed a still

robust U.S. economy, while Nvidia ( NVDA ) slipped as its largely in-line

forecast failed to exceed lofty expectations for the AI chip

firm.

A commerce department report showed the U.S. economy grew

faster than the initial estimates, amid strong consumer

spending.

"The economy is not slipping into a recession anytime soon

and that's beneficial for the stock market, along with a rate

cut that's very likely coming in September," said Robert Pavlik,

senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

Markets have seesawed between marginal gains and losses in

the run-up to Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results, as traders waited to see if the

company would sustain its unmatched revenue growth.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) largely in-line revenue forecast for the

current quarter despite upbeat second-quarter results

disappointed investors. The chip bellwether's shares were down

2.0%.

"This is the first time that there has been criticism of the

estimates beat and the outlook raise. It is not as great as some

investors had anticipated," said Peter Andersen, founder of

Andersen Capital Management.

"Nvidia ( NVDA ) might be showing early signs of slowdown in capital

expenditure for artificial intelligence."

Although, semiconductor peers Broadcom ( AVGO ) and Advanced

Micro Devices ( AMD ) rose 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively, aiding a

1.2% rise in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) heavyweight megacap customers, which have been the

focus of market euphoria on the prospect of artificial

intelligence integration boosting corporate profits also rose

with Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta and Alphabet up

more than 0.9% each.

Apple ( AAPL ) gained more than 2% after Citigroup selected

the iPhone maker as its top AI pick over Nvidia ( NVDA ). This helped the

tech sector lead sectoral gains with a 0.9% rise.

At 9:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was

up 41.92 points, or 0.10%, at 41,133.34, the S&P 500 was

up 20.41 points, or 0.36%, at 5,612.59, and the Nasdaq Composite

was up 156.60 points, or 0.89%, at 17,712.62.

The benchmark S&P 500 is about 1% away from a record

high, while the Dow is hovering around an all-time peak,

with expectations for a September rate cut staying robust.

Odds of a reduction of 25 basis points in September stand at

67.5%, while those of a larger 50 bps cut are at 32.5%,

according to CME Group's Fed Watch Tool.

A Labor Department report showed jobless claims were

marginally lower than expected for the previous week.

Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditure data for June,

could offer hints on the central bank's monetary policy easing

trajectory.

Dow-component Salesforce ( CRM ) beat Wall Street

expectations for second-quarter results, sending the enterprise

cloud firm's shares up 1.1%.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) dropped 6.7% after the cybersecurity

company cut its revenue and profit forecasts in the aftermath of

last month's global tech outage.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.52-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.46-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 20 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows,

while the Nasdaq recorded 27 new highs and 41 new lows.