*

Indexes rise: Dow 0.43%, S&P 500 up 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.09%

*

Nvdia makes history closing with valuation above $4

trillion

*

Bullish Delta update boosts airline sector, transport

sector

*

WK Kellogg climbs on report of $3 bln takeover deal with

Ferrero

(Updates with final closing prices, trading volume)

By Sinéad Carew and Pranav Kashyap

July 10 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose modestly to post

record closing highs on Thursday, boosted by an upbeat forecast

from Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) and a record close for Nvidia ( NVDA ) while

investors shrugged off President Donald Trump's latest tariffs.

Delta shares rallied 12% after the carrier

forecast third-quarter and full-year profits above Wall Street

estimates.

The sector rallied, with United Airlines adding

14.3% and American Airlines ( AAL ) climbing 12.7%. The Dow

Transportation Index, widely considered an economic

barometer, hit its highest since late February.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 0.7% and

closed above the $4 trillion

valuation milestone for the first time, the S&P 500's

second biggest boost on the day.

Initial jobless claims

for the week of July 5 came in at 227,000, below the

consensus of 235,000 in a Reuters poll. The number marked a

seven-week low although data around holidays such as last week's

July Fourth can often be volatile.

The Delta update and "pretty tame" jobless claims

reassured investors, said Mark Luschini, chief investment

strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

"Collectively that helped to re-insert the risk-on mode that

was in full bloom yesterday and carried over to today," the

strategist said, adding that investors are "increasingly

desensitized" to the potential threat tariffs pose to inflation

and unemployment.

"At the moment, investors are looking through or not

accounting for that threat and won't likely until hard evidence

presents itself," said Luschini.

The S&P 500 notched its fifth record close since June 27

while the Nasdaq registered its sixth record closing high in the

same timeframe. Thursday marked the S&P 500's eighth record

close so far in 2025.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 192.34 points,

or 0.43%, to 44,650.64, less than 1 percentage point below its

record close, reached in early December.

The S&P 500 gained 17.20 points, or 0.27%, to

6,280.46 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 19.33 points,

or 0.09%, to 20,630.67.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors advanced. Communication

services fell almost 0.5% with technology

down 0.1%.

Despite Nvidia's ( NVDA ) record close, megacaps were a mixed

bag. Netflix ( NFLX ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta lost

ground. Tesla was the S&P 500's biggest boost, rising

4.7%, after the electric vehicle maker announced that its annual

shareholder meeting

would be in November. A group of investors had urged it to

set a date, citing legal obligations.

Last week's robust labor market report had sent Wall

Street's major indexes to record highs, a rebound from April's

sharp sell-off following "Liberation Day" tariff announcements.

"You're checking off the uncertainty boxes. You had the big

bill that was passed last week. That was a big uncertainty that

has been checked off. You're starting to get more clarity on

tariffs. It's not done yet but you're starting to get a little

more clarity," said Chris Haverland, Global Equity Strategist,

Wells Fargo Investment Institute as he noted the market's record

levels.

"You'll have second quarter earnings season just getting

started next week and you'll see how companies are managing

through the tariffs."

Trump's latest announcements included a new 50% tariff on

copper to start on August 1 and a threat of 50% tariff on

exports of goods from Brazil to the U.S. He also issued tariff

notices to other trading partners.

Several countries still await official word from the White

House, with investors closely monitoring trade negotiations.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting, released on

Wednesday, revealed that most policymakers anticipate rate cuts

this year, viewing the inflationary impact of tariffs as likely

to be "temporary or modest."

While most investors believe a July rate cut is off the

table, the chance of a September cut of 25 basis points is close

to 64%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

It may take until late this year - or even into 2026 -

before the true impact of rising import tariffs on inflation

comes into focus, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said,

highlighting why Fed officials are cautious about rate cuts.

Among other stocks, WK Kellogg rallied

30.6% following reports that Italian candy maker Ferrero was

nearing a deal to buy the cereal maker.

But Conagra Brands ( CAG ) shares sank 4.4% after it

forecast annual profit below Wall Street expectations, citing

higher tariff-related costs for products, including its Hunt's

ketchup, due to levies on imports from China and on metals.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.23-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE where there were 374 new highs and 36 new lows. On

the Nasdaq, 2,602 stocks rose and 1,885 fell as advancing issues

outnumbered decliners by a 1.38-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 94 new highs and 29 new lows.

On U.S. exchanges 18.16 billion shares changed hands

compared with the 18.31 billion average for the last 20

sessions.