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Gap soars after raising annual sales forecast

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Intuit drops after forecasting Q2 results below estimates

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Honeywell ( HON ) rises after $1.33 billion PPE business sale

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Small caps touch over one-week high

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Indexes: Dow up 0.56%, S&P 500 up 0.15%, Nasdaq down 0.13%

(Updates with mid-session trading)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 22 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow hovered at

levels seen more than a week ago on Friday, as investors took

comfort from data pointing to robust economic activity in the

world's biggest economy.

The domestically focused small-cap Russell 2000 index

outperformed large-cap indexes with a 1.3% rise. The index hit a

more than one-week high and was set for weekly advances of

nearly 4%.

A measure of business activity raced to a 31-month high in

November, boosted by hopes for lower interest rates and more

business-friendly policies from President-elect Donald Trump's

administration next year.

"It's the excitement about the deregulation and the Trump

activity that will boost economic action, because executives

start making moves ahead of things," said Eric Schiffer, chief

executive officer at The Patriarch Organization.

However, Schiffer said strong economic data could make the

Fed consider a slower pace of monetary policy easing.

At 11:29 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 246.13 points, or 0.56%, to 44,116.48, the S&P 500

gained 8.99 points, or 0.15%, to 5,957.70 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 24.53 points, or 0.13%, to 18,947.89.

Keeping a lid on gains, Alphabet lost 1.7%,

following on from Thursday's 4% drop, as the Department of

Justice argued to a judge the company was monopolizing online

search.

The S&P 500 communication services sector led

declines with a 0.9% loss, while a majority of the 11 sectors

were in the green led by consumer discretionary stocks

. Tesla, a popular 'Trump trade', advanced 4%.

An index tracking S&P 500 value stocks outperformed

with a 0.6% rise as investors rotated out of their growth peers

.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and Dow closed higher, with AI

bellwether Nvidia ( NVDA ) managing modest gains after its

quarterly forecast. On the day, Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 3.1%.

The three main indexes are on track for weekly gains, with

sentiment still strong about the positive implications Donald

Trump's tax and tariff policies could have for corporates after

his win in the presidential election.

Expectations on the Federal Reserve's policy move in

December have recently swayed between a pause and a cut, as

investors weigh the impact Trump's policies can have on price

pressures.

There is a 59.6% probability the central bank will lower

borrowing costs by 25 basis points, as per the CME Group's

FedWatch Tool. Most brokerages also back a quarter-point cut.

Markets were also monitoring a missile exchange between

Ukraine and Russia after the latter lowered its threshold for a

nuclear retaliation earlier in the week.

Among top movers, Gap Inc ( GAP ) jumped 9.5% after the Old

Navy parent raised its annual sales forecast and said the

holiday season was off to a "strong start".

Intuit lost 4.7% after the TurboTax parent

projected second-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street

estimates on Thursday.

Honeywell International ( HON ) advanced 1% after the

industrial giant said it will sell its personal protective

equipment business for about $1.33 billion.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.9-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 71 new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 122 new highs and 58 new

lows.