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S&P 500 posts sixth record high since June 27

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Nasdaq has six best finishes in last seven sessions

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Chip stocks jump after TSMC's record quarterly profit

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Consumer-facing PepsiCo ( PEP ), United Airlines rise on outlook

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Indexes up: Dow 0.52%, S&P 500 0.54%, Nasdaq 0.74%

(Adds closing prices)

By David French

July 17 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 stock index and

the Nasdaq Composite both finished at record highs on

Thursday, as investors embraced strong economic data and

earnings reports that showed American consumers remained willing

to spend.

The Nasdaq has ended at a record high in six of the previous

seven sessions, and the S&P 500 has had six best finishes since

June 27.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 153.78 points, or 0.74%,

to 20,884.27, and the S&P 500 increased 33.66 points, or

0.54%, to 6,297.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also

ended up, rising 229.71 points, or 0.52%, to 44,484.49.

Wall Street has had a strong run since tumbling after

President Donald Trump's Liberation Day tariff announcements in

early April and then recovering. This week was seen as a proving

ground for these gains though, with a number of key economic

reports and the start of second-quarter earnings season.

Economic data and corporate earnings reports "are showing

that the economic backdrop is still pretty solid, and so markets

have been able to grind higher this week with some data to

support where we are going," said Anthony Saglimbene, chief

market strategist at Ameriprise Financial.

U.S. retail sales bounced back sharply in June, data showed

on Thursday. Investors saw renewed economic momentum and

confidence among consumers, after mixed inflation data which

showed stalled producer prices and a spike in consumer inflation

in the same month.

Investors have been watching for signs of whether Trump's

tariff policies are starting to permeate the U.S. economy. The

Federal Reserve has indicated it will hold off on interest rate

cuts until it can see the inflationary impact of higher import

taxes.

This was reiterated on Thursday by Fed Governor Adriana

Kugler, who said rate cuts are on hold for now, as Trump's

tariffs begin to push up consumer prices.

Traders now peg the odds of a September rate cut at around

54%, with a July move nearly ruled out, according to CME's

FedWatch tool.

Accompanying strong retail sales was upbeat commentary from

consumer-facing American companies.

PepsiCo ( PEP ) jumped 7.5% after forecasting upbeat

results, fueled by demand for energy drinks and healthier sodas,

helping offset concerns about a dip in annual core profit.

United Airlines gained 3.1% after the carrier

projected stronger demand since early July, offering a rare

bright spot for an industry strained by Trump's budget cuts and

trade tensions.

Rivals Delta and American Airlines ( AAL ) also

climbed more than 1.4%.

Technology stocks were also buoyed, in particular U.S.

chipmakers, after TSMC, the world's main producer of

advanced AI chips, posted a record quarterly profit, saying

demand for artificial intelligence was getting stronger.

U.S.-listed shares of TSMC gained 3.4%, as Marvell ( MRVL )

rose 1.6% and Nvidia ( NVDA ) increased 1%.

Ameriprise's Saglimbene said the blowout TSMC earnings bode

well for chipmakers and the wider technology sector.

"Before we get all the Big Tech earnings in the next week or

two, you're seeing the single source of production of those (AI)

chips saying their demand is very strong. So the set-up for Big

Tech is pretty positive, which is why technology is leading on

the day today," he added.

Both the technology and industrials

indexes finished at record highs on Thursday, although the

leading sector of the nine which ended in positive territory was

financials, with a 0.9% advance.

Netflix climbed 1.9%. After the bell, it

reported earnings above forecasts, aided by the final season of

global phenomenon "Squid Game".