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Boeing ( BA ) rises after plea deal in 737 MAX probe

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Paramount Global ( PARAA ) slips after Skydance merger deal

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Fed's Powell to testify in Congress on Tuesday and

Wednesday

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Indexes: S&P 500 +0.06%, Nasdaq +0.20%, Dow -0.08%

(Updates at 2:04 p.m. EDT/1804 GMT)

By Noel Randewich and Ankika Biswas

July 8 (Reuters) - A rally in chip stocks lifted the

Nasdaq and S&P 500 to record highs on Monday as investors

awaited fresh inflation data, commentary from Federal Reserve

Chair Jerome Powell and the start of quarterly earnings season.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) jumped 2.5%, while Super Micro Computer ( SMCI )

, which makes AI-optimized servers using Nvidia's ( NVDA ) chips,

rallied almost 9%. Intel ( INTC ) rallied almost 6%.

The Nasdaq climbed to a record high, and the S&P 500

rose modestly and also reached a record high.

Traders will scrutinize consumer price data due on Thursday

and producer price data expected on Friday to gauge the Fed's

progress in fighting inflation.

Investors worry that waiting too long to cut interest rates

could damage the labor market and push the economy into a

recession. They will closely monitor Powell's semiannual

testimony before U.S. Senate and House committees on Tuesday and

Wednesday.

"What investors want to hear is a dovish tone and an

acknowledgement that the two-sided risks are more evenly

balanced today, in particular, with respect to the labor

market," said Ross Mayfield, an investment strategy analyst at

Baird.

Expectations for interest-rate cuts as early as September

grew after Friday's nonfarm payrolls report showed U.S. job

growth slowed in June - the latest data to point to weakness in

labor market conditions.

Traders now see a greater than 75% chance of a rate cut of

at least 25 basis points by September, up from last week's 60%,

according to CME's FedWatch.

Citigroup ( C/PN ), JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and Wells Fargo ( WFC )

are slated to kick off Wall Street's second-quarter

earnings season on Friday. Citigroup ( C/PN ) shares gained 1.1%, while

Wells Fargo ( WFC ) lost 1.4%.

Analysts on average see S&P 500 companies increasing their

aggregate earnings per share by 10.1% in the second quarter, up

from an 8.2% increase in the first quarter, according to LSEG

I/B/E/S.

The S&P 500 was last up 0.06% at 5,570.68 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.20% to 18,389.54 points, while the Dow

Jones Industrial Average was down 0.08% at 39,345.56

points.

Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, six rose, led by

information technology, up 0.59%, followed by a 0.23%

gain in materials. Consumer services fell

almost 1%, dragged down by a 1.8% dip in Meta Platforms ( META )

.

Paramount Global ( PARAA ) fell more than 3% after it agreed

on Sunday to merge with Skydance Media, scripting a new chapter

for one of Hollywood's oldest studios.

Planemaker Boeing gained 0.3% after agreeing to plead

guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of

$243.6 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department

investigation into two fatal 737 MAX crashes.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500

by a 1.3-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 20 new highs and 7 new lows; the Nasdaq

recorded 69 new highs and 90 new lows.