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Kashkari says appropriate to debate Sept rate cut - report

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Estee Lauder ( EL ) drops on downbeat FY profit forecast

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AMD up on plans to acquire ZT Systems for $4.9 bln

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Indexes up: Dow 0.24%, S&P 500 0.16%, Nasdaq 0.08%

(Updated at 09:46 a.m. ET/1346 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Johann M Cherian

Aug 19 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main stock indexes extended their gains in

choppy trading on Monday after clocking their best week of the

year, while investors looked ahead to Federal Reserve Chair

Jerome Powell's speech at Jackson Hole for rate-cut indications.

The benchmark S&P 500 clinched a seven-day winning streak on

Friday, its longest since October 2023, after a batch of strong

economic data eased investor concerns about a recession in the

world's largest economy.

That was a sharp turnaround from an equities selloff earlier

in the month after a higher-than-expected increase in the U.S.

unemployment rate for July fanned worries about the health of

the economy.

Goldman Sachs lowered the odds of the United States slipping

into a recession in the next 12 months to 20% from 25% following

the latest weekly jobless claims and retail sales reports.

At 09:46 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

95.80 points, or 0.24%, to 40,755.61, the S&P 500 gained

8.98 points, or 0.16%, to 5,563.23 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 14.39 points, or 0.08%, to 17,646.11.

Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors advanced, with

communication services being the biggest gainer,

helped by Alphabet's 1.6% rise.

Minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting are due on

Wednesday, and Powell will speak at the economic symposium in

Jackson Hole on Friday, with investors keeping an eye out for

any signs of acknowledgment of a rate cut in September.

"They're expecting Powell to perhaps signal suddenly the

Fed's upcoming actions. I'm not sure that will actually happen

but the entire market will be focused on the proceedings of the

Jackson Hole meeting," said Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen

Capital Management.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said the debate

about potentially cutting interest rates in September is an

appropriate one to have because of a rising possibility of a

weakening labor market, according to a report.

Traders currently see a 75.5% chance of the Fed cutting

interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) in September, compared

with an even split between a 50 and 25 bps cut seen a week ago,

according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

All eyes are on corporate earnings as cybersecurity company

Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ), retailer Target ( TGT ) and home

improvement chain Lowe's are expected to report their

results this week.

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) rose 2.3% after the chipmaker

said it plans to acquire server maker ZT Systems for $4.9

billion, to expand its portfolio of artificial intelligence

chips and hardware and compete better with Nvidia ( NVDA ).

Estee Lauder ( EL ) fell 1.9% after the cosmetics maker

forecast annual profit below expectations.

B. Riley Financial ( RILY ) slid 12.4% following a drop of

over 65% last week. Co-founder and co-CEO Bryant Riley had

offered to buy the bank on Friday, after it warned of a hit from

its investment in Vitamin Shoppe-owner Franchise Group.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.57-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.78-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 29 new

lows.

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Johann M Cherian in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Anil D'Silva)