(Updates with afternoon prices, adds analyst comment and market

details)

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EchoStar ( SATS ) jumps after AT&T ( T ) says it will buy spectrum

licenses for

$23 billion

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AMD gains on Truist Securities' bullish upgrade

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Eli Lilly ( LLY ) up as pill cuts weight by 10.5% in diabetes

patients

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S&P 500 +0.12%, Nasdaq +0.15%, Dow +0.04%

By Johann M Cherian and Noel Randewich

Aug 26 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 edged up on Tuesday,

lifted by Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Eli Lilly ( LLY ), while U.S. President Donald

Trump's decision to fire a central bank governor deepened

concerns about the Federal Reserve's independence.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 1% ahead of its quarterly report on

Wednesday, which will show how the world's most valuable company

is faring in the crossfire of Washington and Beijing's ongoing

trade war. The chipmaker's report could also fuel - or dampen -

Wall Street's rally in AI-related stocks.

Trump late on Monday said he was removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook

over alleged improprieties in obtaining mortgage loans, adding

to concerns about the central bank's independence from politics.

S&P 500 futures briefly sank before the stock market recovered

as investors focused on unchanged expectations that the central

bank will begin cutting interest rates in September.

"The financial market community is increasingly concerned

about that independence. That is a real concern over the long

run. But over the short run, how much does it change the

trajectory of interest rate policy in the next six to 12 months?

I think the writing has already been on the wall that we get

easier monetary policy in the next six to 12 months," said Bill

Merz, head of Capital Market Research at U.S. Bank Wealth

Management, Minneapolis.

Despite lingering inflation pressures, traders have been pricing

in a 25-basis-point interest rate cut for the Fed's September

policy meeting, encouraged by dovish signals from Fed Chair

Jerome Powell, data pointing to labor market weakness and a

shakeup at the central bank.

Morgan Stanley became the latest brokerage to forecast an

interest-rate cut in September, but key upcoming inflation and

jobs reports could prompt investors to reassess expectations.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) jumped 4.2% after the drugmaker said its

experimental pill cuts body weight by 10.5% in diabetes

patients.

The S&P 500 is trading at about 23 times expected earnings,

a four-year high, heightening the risk of a selloff if Nvidia's ( NVDA )

results dent Wall Street's enthusiasm for AI-related stocks.

The S&P 500 was up 0.12% at 6,446.74 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.15% to 21,481.34 points, while the Dow

Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04% at 45,299.96 points.

Six of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by

energy, down 0.71%, followed by a 0.59% loss in consumer

staples. Industrials rose 0.6%, leading

gainers.

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) gained 1.7% after Truist

Securities upgraded the chip stock to "buy" from "hold".

EchoStar ( SATS ) surged 75%, hitting a record high, after

telecom giant AT&T ( T ) said it has agreed to buy certain

wireless spectrum licenses from the satellite communications

firm for about $23 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500

by a 1.2-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq

recorded 101 new highs and 49 new lows.