*

Goldman Sachs raises S&P 500 year-end target to 5,600

points

*

Evercore ISI hikes year-end S&P 500 target to 6,000 points

*

Autodesk ( ADSK ) up after report Starboard Value takes ~$500 mln

stake

*

Indexes higher: Dow 0.49%, S&P 500 0.77%, Nasdaq 0.95%

(Updates to close)

By Echo Wang

June 17 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq scored record closing highs on Monday

as technology shares rallied on enthusiasm over artificial

intelligence ahead of this week's economic data and Federal

Reserve officials' speeches that could shed light on monetary

policy.

Megacaps Apple and Microsoft ( MSFT ) rebounded

from early losses to end 1.97% and 1.31% higher respectively.

Apple ( AAPL ) shares extended their

rally

from last week when the company announced new AI features

meant to rekindle demand for iPhones.

"This is continuing to be driven by AI," said J. Bryant

Evans, investment advisor and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset

Management in Champaign, Illinois.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) and U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan

Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSM ) were up 5.41% and 2.74%

respectively while Micron Technology ( MU ) rose 4.58% after

price-target raises by brokerages.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index hit an

all-time high even as artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia ( NVDA )

retreated from a record high to lose 0.66%.

Consumer discretionary and technology

were the biggest gainers among the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes,

while utilities and real estate led

declines.

"There is hope that lower interest rates might come into

play looking forward, reducing housing costs and helping

consumers out," said Evans.

Goldman Sachs lifted its 2024 year-end target for the S&P

500 Index to 5,600 from 5,200, while Evercore ISI raised

its forecast for the benchmark index to 6,000 from 4,750.

Both brokerages cited technology strength and enthusiasm

for AI as reasons for their upgrades.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit multiple

all-time peaks in the previous week.

The Fed will be able to cut its benchmark interest rate once

this year, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said on

Monday, if his economic forecast plays out.

Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook will speak later on Monday.

This week's economic roster includes May retail sales

data on Tuesday, followed by industrial production, housing

starts and the S&P flash Purchasing Managers' Index.

Markets will be closed on Wednesday for the Juneteenth

holiday.

The

Fed held interest rates steady

on Wednesday and pushed out the start of rate cuts to

perhaps as late as December.

However, markets still expect about two 25-basis-point cuts

this year, LSEG data showed. The CME FedWatch tool

shows easing is still seen beginning at the September meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 188.94

points, or 0.49%, to 38,778.10. The S&P 500 climbed 41.63

points, or 0.77%, to 5,473.23 and the Nasdaq Composite

advanced 168.14 points, or 0.95%, to 17,857.02.

Autodesk ( ADSK ) jumped 6.48% after a report that activist

investor Starboard Value had bought a roughly $500 million stake

in the software maker.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.44-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, which had 250 new highs and 126 new lows.

The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and six new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 214 new

lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.12 billion shares,

compared with the 11.87 billion average for the full session

over the last 20 trading days.