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Indexes: Dow up 0.54%, S&P 500 up 0.25%, Nasdaq down 0.04%

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

Ferrero

(Updates with early afternoon prices, analyst comment)

By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma

July 10 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Dow edged up on Thursday, brushing off

President Donald Trump's latest tariff salvo, while airline

stocks soared on the wings of Delta's upbeat forecast.

Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) jumped 12.5% after forecasting

third-quarter and full-year profits above Wall Street estimates.

Peers United Airlines rose 13.4%, while American

Airlines ( AAL ) gained 12.5%.

The Dow Transportation index, widely considered

an economic barometer, jumped 3%.

"The positive news from Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) is a good sign,

showing a little bit more strength in the consumer than you'd

otherwise expect," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment

officer at Northlight Asset Management.

At 11:48 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 edged up 0.25% and

the Dow climbed 0.54% - just 0.7% shy of its December 4

record high.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was flat, pressured by a

near 1% drop in Meta and a retreat in Nvidia ( NVDA ),

which cooled off after its historic leap to a $4 trillion

valuation just a day earlier.

"Markets are in a wait-and-see mode. They are looking to

see what earnings will be like when (the season) kicks off next

week," Zaccarelli added.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading in the

green, with technology and communication services

being the only drags.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, however,

jumped 2.6% amid conversations around its next annual

shareholder meeting

in November.

Trump announced on Wednesday a new 50% tariff on copper to

start on August 1 and threatened a 50% tariff on exports to the

U.S. from Brazil. He also issued tariff notices to seven minor

trading partners.

Yet, several countries are still waiting for official word

from the White House, with investors closely monitoring the

evolving trade negotiations.

The m

inutes

from the Federal Reserve's June meeting revealed that most

officials anticipate rate cuts will be warranted later this

year, viewing the inflationary impact of Trump's import tariffs

as likely "temporary or modest."

While a July rate cut is off the table, the odds of a

September move have climbed 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 treading carefully on rate

cuts.

Last week's robust labor market report sent Wall Street's

major indexes to fresh record highs, signaling a rebound from

April's sharp sell-off following "Liberation Day" tariff

announcements.

Initial jobless claims for the week of July 5 came in at

227,000, below consensus of 235,000, as per a Reuters poll.

Among other stocks, WK Kellogg leapt 30.6% and was

on track for its biggest single-day move following reports that

Italian candy maker Ferrero was nearing a deal to buy the cereal

maker.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.89-to-1

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

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and four new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 23

new lows.