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Harris-Trump debate scheduled for 9 p.m. ET

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Oracle jumps after Q1 results beat estimates

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Indexes: Dow down 0.01%, S&P 500 up 0.26%, Nasdaq up 0.24%

(Updated at 9:39 a.m. ET/1339 GMT)

By Shubham Batra and Shashwat Chauhan

Sept 10 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on

Tuesday as most megacap stocks gained, with focus now moving to

key inflation data later this week that could provide more

clarity on the extent of the Federal Reserve's expected interest

rate cut on Sept. 18.

Apple ( AAPL ) fell 1.6%, with China's Huawei launching a

tri-fold smartphone hours after the debut of a new iPhone.

The iPhone maker also lost its fight against an order by EU

competition regulators to pay 13 billion euros ($14.34 billion)

in back taxes to Ireland.

EV maker Tesla rose 2.2%, leading gains among

megacaps and growth stocks.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher,

with consumer discretionary and communication services

leading gains.

Wall Street's main indexes had recorded gains of more than

1% on Monday as investors looked for bargains following a week

of steep losses.

The focus this week continues to be on the August inflation

reading on Wednesday that is likely to show a slight moderation

in the headline number to 2.6% on a year-on-year basis, while it

is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2% on month.

"If we get an inflation report that is too hot that may

cause concern, or if it is too soft you may see markets respond

negatively because that's going to increase the recession risk,"

said Erik Knutzen, multi-asset chief investment officer at

Neuberger Berman.

On Thursday, the producer prices report will follow the CPI

data.

Money markets are all but convinced that the U.S. central

bank will begin its policy easing cycle later this month, with a

73% chance of a 25-basis point cut and a total easing of 100 bps

by the end of 2024, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

Later on Tuesday, Philadelphia will be center stage when

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump meet in a highly anticipated

televised debate that could weigh heavily on the November

election. The two, who have never met in person, will square off

at 9 p.m. ET (0100 GMT) for a 90-minute debate hosted by ABC

News.

At 09:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 5.86 points, or 0.01%, to 40,835.45, the S&P 500

gained 14.37 points, or 0.26%, to 5,485.42, and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 40.82 points, or 0.24%, to 16,925.42.

Oracle jumped 11.2% after beating estimates for

quarterly results and forecast second-quarter revenue growth

above expectations.

Wells Fargo ( WFC ) gained 1.6% after Chief Financial

Officer Mike Santomassimo at an industry conference said overall

deposits are performing well.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) dropped 7.8% after the AI

server maker announced a $1.35 billion mandatory convertible

preferred stock offering to fund its acquisition of Juniper

Networks ( JNPR ).

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.07-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, while declining issues outnumbered advancers for a

1.14-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and seven new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 16 new highs and 58 new

lows.

($1 = 0.9064 euros)