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Oracle up after Trump unveils $500 bln AI plan

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Procter & Gamble ( PG ) gains after upbeat Q2 results

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S&P 500 less than 1% away from all-time high

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Indexes up: Dow 0.17%, S&P 500 0.48%, Nasdaq 0.97%

(Updates after markets open)

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Jan 22 (Reuters) -

The Nasdaq led gains among Wall Street's main indexes on

Wednesday, as investors cheered streaming giant Netflix's ( NFLX ) strong

quarterly performance and President Donald Trump's multi-billion

dollar support to bolster AI infrastructure.

The benchmark S&P 500 was just shy of surpassing its

all-time intra-day high hit in early December.

Netflix ( NFLX ) jumped 13.1% after reporting a record

number of subscribers for the holiday quarter, enabling it to

increase prices for most service plans.

Among other streaming companies, Roku ( ROKU ) rose 1.5%.

In a boost from Netflix ( NFLX ), the S&P 500 communication services

sector gained 1.5%.

"Here is the leader (Netflix ( NFLX )) that is becoming even more

of a leader distancing itself from other competitors with key

growth drivers being not only in terms of delivering content but

then charging more for advertisements," said Sam Stovall, chief

investment strategist at CFRA Research.

At 9:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 76.59 points, or 0.17%, to 44,102.40, the S&P 500

gained 29.01 points, or 0.48%, to 6,078.25 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 191.37 points, or 0.97%, to 19,948.15.

Among the top movers, Oracle gained 5.1%, a day

after Trump said the company would invest $500 billion in AI

infrastructure with OpenAI and SoftBank, even though

there was no clarity on funding.

Server makers Dell and Super Micro added

5.8% and 1.6%, respectively, while AI winners Microsoft ( MSFT )

added 2.2% and Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 4%.

Three of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with technology stocks

leading the gains with a 1.7% increase and an index

tracking chip stocks jumped 2%.

"It'll give additional reason for investors to feel

encouraged by the direction of equity prices confirming that the

president is very pro-business in general and pro-tech in

particular, and really wants to do whatever he can to propel

U.S.-based business," Stovall said.

Data pointing to a strong economy amid cooling inflation and

Trump's moderate approach to tariffs have helped risk-taking

since last week, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow at their

highest in over a month. Stocks have also benefited from easing

Treasury yields.

However, Trump has warned that tariffs on imports from

China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union could be issued on

Feb. 1, a reminder for markets that risks of a potential trade

war and fresh inflation pressures prevailed.

Traders expect the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates

unchanged when it meets next week and expect it to deliver its

first rate cut this year in July, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

Procter & Gamble ( PG ) advanced 3.2% after beating

second-quarter estimates, driven by growing demand for its

household items in the United States.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) gave up early gains and slipped

3.5%. The drugmaker reported fourth-quarter results above

estimates.

Ford lost 3.3% after Barclays downgraded the

stock.

Textron ( TXT ) fell 4% as it forecast 2025 profit below

estimates.

Halliburton ( HAL ) slipped 3.2% after warning of softer

activity in North America this year and posting

downbeat quarterly revenue

.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.5-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and four new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 31

new lows.