(Recasts to reflect preliminary close of trading)

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FedEx ( FDX ) results top targets on cost-cutting, shares jump

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Lennar ( LEN ) drops on weak forecast

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Trump, Xi make trade progress in first call since June

By Abigail Summerville and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes closed

higher on Friday, and also posted a weekly gain, as FedEx ( FDX )

rose after positive earnings.

The parcel delivery company popped after it reported quarterly

profit and revenue above analyst estimates on Thursday, as

cost-cutting and strength in domestic deliveries helped offset

weaker international volumes.

Apple ( AAPL ) rose following a price target raise from J.P.

Morgan, while gains in Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) and Oracle

also drove the S&P 500 technology sector

higher.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched their third straight week of

gains, boosted by the Fed's first rate cut of 2025 and

indications of further monetary policy easing. Revived optimism

around AI-linked stock trading also added to the rise.

Wall Street wavered earlier in the day as investors

continued to digest the Fed's outlook and get a read on Stephen

Miran, its newest governor and White House economic adviser, who

spoke on CNBC on Friday morning.

"Certainly if the idea is the Fed is moving in a direction

to relax the inflation target, that is definitely a recipe for

running hot, and that's good for stocks," said Scott Ladner,

chief investment officer at Horizon Investments.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained

32.05 points, or 0.47%, to end at 6,662.84 points, while the

Nasdaq Composite gained 156.30 points, or 0.69%, to

22,625.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165.45

points, or 0.36%, to 46,315.77.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index dropped after briefly

hitting an intraday record high. It notched a record close on

Thursday, its first since November 2021.

"Small caps have been trading inversely with rates, and it's

just the idea of small caps benefiting disproportionately from

lower interest rates," Ladner said.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart

Xi Jinping spoke by phone, after which Trump said that the two

leaders made progress on a TikTok deal and agreed to a

face-to-face meeting as soon as next month in South Korea.

Also on Friday, the Senate blocked a short-term funding bill,

increasing the likelihood of a U.S. government shutdown.

Wall Street's three main indexes are in positive territory

so far in September - a month traditionally deemed bad for U.S.

equities. The benchmark S&P 500 has shed 1.4% on average in the

month since 2000, according to data compiled by LSEG.

In other stock news, Lennar ( LEN ) fell after the

homebuilder reported a lower third-quarter profit and forecast

fourth-quarter home deliveries below estimates.

Paramount Skydance ( PSKY ) jumped after a CNBC report laid

out more details about the media company's potential bid for

Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ), which also rose. An offer could

come later than previously expected, according to CNBC.