*

Oracle up after Trump unveils private-sector $500 bln AI

plan

*

Procter & Gamble ( PG ) gains after upbeat Q2 results

*

Indexes up: Dow 0.25%, S&P 500 0.68%, Nasdaq 1.28%

(Updates prices to late afternoon)

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on

Wednesday, with the benchmark S&P 500 hitting a record high, as

investors cheered streaming video provider Netflix's ( NFLX ) quarterly

report and technology shares rallied after the announcement of a

private-sector artificial intelligence infrastructure plan.

Risk appetites got a boost from data pointing to a strong

economy with cooling inflation and U.S. President Donald Trump's

more moderate than feared approach to tariffs so far.

Netflix ( NFLX ) was the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainer

with a 9.8% advance after the company reported a record number

of subscribers for the holiday quarter, enabling it to increase

prices for most service plans.

The technology sector was the biggest gainer while

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was the biggest boost for the S&P 500 and the

Nasdaq followed by Microsoft ( MSFT ).

Investors were piling bets into the promise of AI

Tuesday's announcement by Trump of a

$500 billion private-sector AI infrastructure plan from

Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank, even though there

was no clarity on funding.

"It's a story of big tech and everything else is hanging in

there," said Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager for equities

at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, who attributed much of

Wednesday's rally, particularly in chip stocks, to the AI

announcement.

"The direct beneficiary, at least the beginning would be

the semiconductor space," he said pointing to the Philadelphia

semiconductor index outperformance with a 2.3% gain.

But without funding clarity, Stucky described the news

as "more of a pie in the sky kind of investment story."

Nevertheless, Oracle shares were up 7.6% while server

makers Dell and Super Micro added more than

4%. Microsoft ( MSFT ) added 3.9% and Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 4.8%. U.S.

traded shares of ARM Holdings, a technology supplier to

chip companies that is 90% owned by SoftBank, were up 14.8%.

Investors were still waiting cautiously for Trump's

trade plans due to inflation concerns after he warned that

tariffs on imports from China, Mexico, Canada and the European

Union could be issued on Feb. 1.

The president has ordered federal agencies to complete

comprehensive reviews of a range of trade issues by April 1 -

the date that analysts at Barclays say markets should focus on.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111.36

points, or 0.25%, to 44,136.46, the S&P 500 gained 40.88

points, or 0.68%, to 6,090.12 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 252.60 points, or 1.28%, to 20,009.69.

Just two of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with technology

rising 2.6% communications services up 1.3% with

Netflix ( NFLX ) leading the charge followed by Meta Platforms ( META ).

In individual stocks Procter & Gamble ( PG ) advanced 2.2%

after beating second-quarter estimates, driven by growing demand

for its household items in the United States.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) fell 2.5% although the drugmaker

reported fourth-quarter results above estimates.

After rising on Tuesday, Ford lost 3.3% as Barclays

downgraded the stock. Textron ( TXT ) fell 4% after it forecast

2025 profit below estimates.

Halliburton ( HAL ) slipped 2.6% after warning of softer

activity in North America this year and posting downbeat

quarterly revenue.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.43-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE where there were 242 new highs and 46 new lows.

On the Nasdaq, 1,896 stocks rose and 2,456 fell as

declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.3-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 38 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 98 new highs and 79 new

lows.