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Indexes up: Dow 0.09%, S&P 500 0.20%, Nasdaq 0.66%

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Boeing ( BA ) rises after Qatar Airways signs deal for 160 jets

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American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) drops after withdrawing FY

forecast

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AMD gains after announcing $6 billion buyback plan

(Updates with afternoon trading levels)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Pranav Kashyap

May 14 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 wavered between gains and losses on Wednesday

after a robust start to the week spurred by soft inflation data

and the U.S.-China tariff truce, as investors watched for trade

developments during Donald Trump's tour of the Gulf states.

Most megacap and growth stocks ticked up, with Nvidia ( NVDA )

among top gainers with a 3.3% jump. Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ) gained 5.2% after the chip designer approved a

new $6 billion share buyback program.

As President Donald Trump secured $600 billion in

commitments from Saudi Arabia during his visit, a number of U.S.

technology firms announced artificial-intelligence-related deals

in the Middle East on Tuesday.

Boeing ( BA ) advanced 1.7% after state carrier Qatar

Airways signed a deal to purchase jets from the U.S. planemaker

during Trump's visit to Doha.

At 11:39 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 35.55 points, or 0.09%, to 42,175.98, the S&P 500

gained 12.06 points, or 0.20%, to 5,898.61, and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 124.46 points, or 0.66%, to 19,134.54.

Eight of the 11 S&P sectors traded lower. Utilities

, down 1.4%, were the worst hit.

U.S. stocks have been buoyed since the weekend, when the

United States and China hit pause on their fierce tariff

dispute, signaling a joint effort to stave off a global economic

downturn.

"The biggest fears that the market's been having are the

impact of 'Liberation Day' and the tariff propositions that

Trump put," said Lara Castleton, U.S. head of portfolio

construction and strategy at Janus Henderson.

"The fact that we were able to back down a lot sooner

than many people expected and come to a potential agreement with

China was a big surprise and a relief for the market."

Data released on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer prices

rebounded moderately in April.

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said while

recent inflation data pointed to progress towards the Fed's 2%

inflation goal, the outlook was now uncertain. Chicago Fed

president Austan Goolsbee said the data did not necessarily

reflect the impact of rising tariffs.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is slated to speak on Thursday

and his comments will be closely watched for clues on how the

central bank plans to proceed with monetary policy easing.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 has swung back into positive

territory for the year for the first time since late February.

However, the benchmark index is more than 4% off the record

peaks it hit earlier this year.

The 90-day tariff pause announced on April 9 for countries

other than China, along with solid earnings reports and a

limited U.S.-UK trade agreement last week, helped the benchmark

indexes claw back.

American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) was among the few

earnings-related movers, dropping 5.3% after the apparel company

withdrew its annual forecasts, citing tariff-fueled economic

uncertainty.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.61-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, and by a 1.52-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted two new 52-week highs and eight new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 52 new highs and 71

new lows.