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Indexes up: Dow 0.36%, S&P 500 0.63%, Nasdaq 0.98%

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Nucor ( NUE ) falls after downbeat quarterly forecast

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Intel ( INTC ) jumps as Nvidia ( NVDA ) takes $5 bln stake in co

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Weekly jobless claims below estimates

(Updates after markets open)

By Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 18 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit intraday record highs on

Thursday, a day after the U.S. central bank delivered a

quarter-point interest rate cut, while chipmaker Intel ( INTC ) climbed

after Nvidia ( NVDA ) decided to build a stake in the company.

Intel ( INTC ) jumped 24.6%, and was set for its biggest

one-day gain since 1987 after Nvidia ( NVDA ) said it would

invest $5 billion in Intel ( INTC ), throwing its heft behind the

struggling U.S. chipmaker.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was up 2.3%, bouncing back from losses on

Wednesday, when a report said Chinese tech firms might stop

buying its chips.

Most semiconductor stocks such as Applied Materials ( AMAT )

, Lam Research ( LRCX ) and Micron Tech ( MU ) also

advanced between 4.5% and 5.6%. Intel's ( INTC ) peer Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ), however, slipped 3%.

The stocks boosted the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500

technology sector, which was up 1.2%.

A broader semiconductor index hit a record high

and was last up 3.3%.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that

the softening jobs market was a priority for the central bank

after it delivered the highly expected cut, indicating more

reductions could follow at its October and December meetings.

Investors are pricing in 42.8 basis points in cuts by

end-2025, data compiled by LSEG showed.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index gained 1.5% and was

on track for a record close, as these companies are likely to

perform better in a low interest-rate environment.

At 10:09 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 163.73 points, or 0.36%, to 46,182.05, the S&P 500

gained 41.53 points, or 0.63%, to 6,641.88 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 217.21 points, or 0.98%, to 22,478.53.

Consumer staples stocks fell 0.6% on the S&P

500, while a decline in consumer discretionary stocks such as

McDonald's and Amazon ( AMZN ) limited gains on the Dow.

Data showed that the number of Americans filing new

applications for unemployment benefits

fell

last week, but the labor market has softened as both demand

for and supply of workers have diminished.

"With the Fed acknowledging that labor supply and demand

have gone down and the worst of potential disruption from the

tariffs is behind us, all that kind of comes together (to) where

less restrictive policy is warranted," said Keith Buchanan,

senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments.

"But (it is) not necessary an emergency dramatic

reduction is in the cards as well. So we (can) really see the

next couple of meetings go the same way as this one did."

Still, the cut is expected to add to Wall Street's

recent rally, boosted by monetary policy easing hopes and a

revival of AI-linked stock.

The three indexes have gained so far in September - a month

deemed bad for U.S. equities historically - where the S&P 500

has shed 1.4% on average since 2000, data compiled by LSEG

showed.

Among stocks, CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gained 10.2% after at

least nine brokerages raised their price target on the stock.

Nucor ( NUE ) slipped 3.5% after the steel company said it

expected third-quarter profit to decrease across all its three

operating segments.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.73-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.71-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and six new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 82 new highs and 22

new lows.