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Private payrolls data slows in May

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CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gains after strong Q2 forecast

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HPE climbs after upbeat revenue forecasts

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Indexes up: Dow 0.25%, S&P 1.18%, Nasdaq 1.96%

(Adds market details after close of trading)

By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq

indexes hit record closing highs on Wednesday, powered mainly by

technology stocks as markets digested economic data that could

support a much-expected start to the Federal Reserve's policy

easing cycle.

Technology stocks led advances among the 11 S&P

500 sectors, followed by equities in communications

and industrials sectors. Consumer staples

stocks were the biggest losers.

The May private payrolls report on Wednesday was the latest

data to suggest an easing in labor market tightness that could

propel the Fed to begin cutting rates this year. A report on

Tuesday showed job openings fell in April to the fewest in more

than three years.

"We're seeing the economic data starting to ease up a little

bit and the repercussions for that is that you're seeing the

pressure on rates come off the boil a little bit mixed in with

the potential for weaker economic data, which is a pretty good

recipe for the bond market," said Jack Janasiewicz, a portfolio

manager at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions in Boston.

Traders now see a nearly 69% chance of a September rate

reduction, according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Expectations

had hovered around 50% last week.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell to a two-month low on

Wednesday after a report pointed to weaker-than-expected job

growth ahead of Friday's highly anticipated government

employment report for May.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96.04 points,

or 0.25%, to 38,807.33, the S&P 500 gained 62.69 points,

or 1.18%, to 5,354.03 and the Nasdaq Composite gained

330.86 points, or 1.96%, to 17,187.91.

The S&P 500's previous record-high close was 5,321.41 on May

21, and the Nasdaq's previous record close was 17,019.88 on May

28.

Chip stocks leapt 4.5%, buoyed by gains to Nvidia ( NVDA )

and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) market valuation hit the $3 trillion mark for the

first time as the chipmaker overtook Apple ( AAPL ) to become

the world's second-most valuable company.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) rose 10.7% after

forecasting third-quarter revenue above Street expectations,

helped by upbeat demand for its AI servers.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) slipped 4.9% after a disappointing

quarterly profit forecast. The budget retailer said it would

explore options that include a potential sale or spinoff of

Family Dollar.

Intel ( INTC ) gained 2.5% after buyout firm Apollo Global

Management ( APO ) agreed to purchase a 49% equity interest for

$11 billion in a joint venture related to the chipmaker's

Ireland manufacturing unit.

CrowdStrike Holdings ( CRWD ) jumped 11.9% after forecasting

second-quarter revenue above estimates when markets closed on

Tuesday.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.39-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,759 stocks rose and 1,492 fell as

advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.85-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 24 new 52-week highs and 9 new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 116 new lows.

Total volume of shares traded across U.S. exchanges was

about 10.8 billion, compared with the 12.6 billion average over

the last 20 trading days.