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U.S. retail sales rise less than expected in May

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Lennar ( LEN ) drops as home delivery forecast falls short of

estimates

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Citigroup hikes S&P 500 year-end target to 5,600 points

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Indexes: Dow up 0.23%, S&P up 0.18%, Nasdaq flat

(Updated at 9:46 a.m. ET)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Ankika Biswas

June 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow rose on

Tuesday following softer-than-expected U.S. retail sales

numbers, with focus on commentary from a slew of Federal Reserve

officials later in the day.

Data showed U.S. retail sales rose 0.1% in May, versus the

0.3% increase expected by economists polled by Reuters, as lower

gasoline prices weighed on receipts at service stations.

Markets slightly increased bets on two interest rate cuts

from the Fed this year following the data, according to LSEG's

FedWatch.

"The weaker-than-expected data's telling me that consumers

are still having a difficult time and that the economy is still

moving forward, but at a slower pace," Robert Pavlik, senior

portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management, said.

"The Fed has to start thinking about cutting interest rates,

perhaps sooner than the end of the year."

A separate report showed May industrial production and

manufacturing output both rose 0.9%, beating expectations.

Chip stocks continued their recent rally, boosting the

Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index to a record high.

Qualcomm ( QCOM ), U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan

Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Arm Holdings and

Micron were up between 1.3% and 5%.

The Nasdaq was flat, with losses in Alphabet,

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Meta Platforms ( META ) offset by gains in

chip stocks.

Tech shares lifted the benchmark S&P 500 to its fifth

record high close in six sessions on Monday, and the Nasdaq

to its sixth consecutive record close.

Trading volumes are expected to be light, with markets shut

on Wednesday for the Juneteenth holiday.

Energy was the top S&P 500 sector gainer, up 1.5%,

while utilities were the worst hit.

Focus will be on comments from Fed officials for clues on

how the central bank's members view the current economic

situation and path ahead for monetary policy, after recent

projections showed the Fed now sees just one interest rate cut

this year instead of the three previously forecast.

New York Fed President John Williams said rates will come

down gradually over time, but declined to comment on the timing

of it.

Six other Fed speakers are scheduled for Tuesday, including

voting committee member Adriana Kugler.

Hopes for multiple rate cuts this year, enthusiasm for

AI-linked companies and strong earnings from other tech firms

have supported equities.

Citigroup raised the year-end target for the S&P 500

to 5,600 points from 5,100.

At 9:46 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was

up 88.24 points, or 0.23%, at 38,866.34, the S&P 500 was

up 9.62 points, or 0.18%, at 5,482.85, and the Nasdaq Composite

was down 4.66 points, or 0.03%, at 17,852.36.

Homebuilder Lennar ( LEN ) fell 2.2% after forecasting

lower-than-expected third-quarter home deliveries.

Edtech company Chegg ( CHGG ) jumped 21.6% after announcing

job cuts as part of a restructuring plan.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 1.92-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and a 1.14-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 30 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 57 new lows.