* Indexes up: Dow 0.27%, S&P 500 0.38%, Nasdaq 0.34%

* Oil prices jump about 3% on Iran tensions

* Intel ( INTC ) climbs after Friday's rally

* Inflation data due later this week

(Updates to mid-afternoon trading)

By Stephen Culp and Ragini Mathur

NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street was modestly

higher on Monday, with the earnings-driven fervor of the recent

rally easing as stalled U.S.-Iran peace negotiations and the

ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz drove crude prices

higher and exacerbated inflation worries.

Even so, artificial intelligence-related momentum continued

unabated, with chipmakers handily outperforming the broader

market.

All three major U.S. stock indexes were higher and the S&P

500 and the Nasdaq bound for the latest in a series of all-time

closing highs.

Semiconductors handily outshone other sectors, with the PHLX

Semiconductor index jumping 2.5%, suggesting the AI wave

is showing few signs of abating.

"The semis and AI infrastructure trade has taken on a life

entirely of its own," said Ross Mayfield investment strategy

analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. "And there's so much

momentum and chasing to get in on some of these names that it

seems almost somewhat divorced from any sort of like headline or

announcement."

First-quarter reporting period is on the home stretch, with

440 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those,

83% have topped earnings expectations, according to LSEG IBES.

As of Friday, analysts estimated first-quarter S&P 500

earnings growth, on aggregate, of 28.6% year-on-year. That's

nearly double the 14.4% first-quarter growth estimates as of

April 1.

But as earnings season nears the finish line, focus returns

to macroeconomics and geopolitical developments.

President Donald Trump dismissed Iran's response to a U.S.

peace proposal, causing crude prices to spike and stoking

concerns that a prolonged conflict will keep putting upward

pressure on inflation, particularly at the gasoline pump, where

consumers are feeling the pinch.

On that point, investors will pay close attention to

economic indicators this week, particularly the Labor

Department's Consumer Price Index and the retail sales report

from the Commerce Department, scanning the data for signs that

ongoing surge in energy prices are metastasizing into broader

inflation or affecting consumer spending.

"It's been easy for investors to put Iran to the side while

earnings were so unbelievable, but with this week's inflation

data, I think you could very easily be a flashpoint, bringing

the Iran news back to the forefront of investors' minds,"

Mayfield added. "It's a rally that has been incredible, but will

probably consolidate from here a little bit, and I wonder if CPI

and PPI will be catalysts for some of that profit-taking

action."

Producer prices and industrial output are also on this

week's economic calendar.

Later this week President Trump is due to meet his Chinese

counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing for talks covering a broad

range of issues, including the Iran war, trade, nuclear weapons,

Taiwan, artificial intelligence and possible extension of a

critical rare earth minerals deal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 134.28 points,

or 0.27%, to 49,743.44, the S&P 500 gained 28.14 points,

or 0.38%, to 7,427.07 and the Nasdaq Composite gained

89.17 points, or 0.34%, to 26,336.86.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 energy stocks

boasted the largest percentage gains, while

communication services were the biggest laggards.

Major names due to report this week include tech networking

giant Cisco ( CSCO ) and semiconductor equipment maker Applied

Materials ( AMAT ), while heavyweights Nvidia ( NVDA ) and

Walmart ( WMT ) are due to report later in the month.

On Monday, Intel ( INTC ) rose 2% after surging 14% on

Friday on a report of a preliminary chip-making agreement with

Apple ( AAPL ), while peer Qualcomm ( QCOM ) jumped 7.6% to a

record high.

Media major Fox Corp ( FOXA ) rose 4.7% after beating

third-quarter revenue estimates.

Among other movers, some airline stocks slipped as rising

oil prices threatened to squeeze margins. Southwest Airlines ( LUV )

, Delta Air Lines ( DAL ), Alaska Air ( ALK ) and United

Airlines fell between 2.0% and 4.3%.

There were 457 new highs and 127 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,277 stocks rose and 2,498 fell as declining

issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.1-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 36 new 52-week highs and 38 new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 144 new highs and 139 new

lows.