*

Trump Media ( DJT ), crypto stocks, prison operators jump

*

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) rises after results

*

Macy's falls after ending discussions with Arkhouse and

Brigade

*

Indexes up: Dow 0.53%, S&P 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.40%

(Updates as of 4:12 p.m. EDT, adds market details after close)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street closed higher

on Monday, building on Friday's rally as increasing expectations

of a second Donald Trump presidency in the wake of a failed

assassination attempt raised hopes of a looser regulatory

environment.

The growing probability that the U.S. Federal Reserve will

begin cutting its key interest rate as soon as September also

helped feed risk appetite.

While all three major U.S. stock indexes ended well below

session highs, the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched an

all-time closing high.

Economically sensitive small caps and transportation

stocks handily outperformed the broader market.

An assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on Saturday of

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president,

appeared to improve his chances for election. A Trump presidency

would presumably result in a more hawkish trade policy, an

extension of tax cuts and deregulation in a host of areas

ranging from climate change to cryptocurrencies.

Online betting site PredictIt showed bets of an election win

at 67 cents for Trump, up from Friday's 60 cents, with a victory

for Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden at 26 cents.

"The headline event - the attempted assassination of Donald

Trump - did not result in a bottom line event," said Sam

Stovall, chief investment strategist of CFRA Research in New

York. "There's no change to GDP forecasts, no change to

expectations that the Fed will start to cut rates in September,

corporate profits are coming in ahead of expectations."

"So the momentum in the market remains based on investor

optimism," Stovall added.

Sentiment was also buoyed by optimism that the U.S. Federal

Reserve will enter its expected interest rate cutting phase as

early as September, with as many as three total cuts by the end

of the year.

"A September (rate) cut has been all but cemented," said

Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in

Louisville, Kentucky. "We're sitting almost exactly where we

were seven months ago, which is the promise of Fed rate cuts

without a recession. It's still very much predicated to the Fed

coming to the party."

Speaking before the Economic Club of Washington, Fed Chair

Jerome Powell reiterated on Monday his belief that the U.S.

economy can avoid recession, and recent data readings show

progress in bringing inflation down to the central bank's 2%

goal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 210.82 points,

or 0.53%, to 40,211.72, the S&P 500 gained 15.87 points,

or 0.28%, to 5,631.22 and the Nasdaq Composite added

74.12 points, or 0.40%, to 18,472.57.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, energy shares

enjoyed the biggest percentage gain, while utilities

were laggards.

Goldman Sachs' ( GS ) second-quarter profit more than

doubled, beating analyst estimates on solid debt underwriting

and fixed-income trading. The broker's shares advanced 2.6%.

Shares of Macy's Inc dropped 11.7% after the

department store scrapped buyout talks with Arkhouse Management

and Brigade Capital.

The prospect of a second Trump presidency sent shares of

Trump Media & Technology Group ( DJT ) soaring 31.4%.

Crypto stocks also fared well, with Coinbase Global ( COIN )

, Marathon Digital Holdings ( MARA ) and Riot Platforms ( RIOT )

up between 11.4% and 18.3%.

Other stocks that are expected to benefit from Trump's

possible second term climbed, with gunmaker Smith & Wesson

and prison operator GEO Group ( GEO ) gaining 11.4% and

9.3%, respectively.

On the downside, solar energy firms slid as the prospect of

Trump's election dimmed expectations for renewable energy U.S.

subsidies.

Shares of Sunrun ( RUN ) and SolarEdge Technologies ( SEDG )

tumbled 9.0% and 15.4%, respectively.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies also declined on

fears of tightened trade restrictions under another Trump

administration.

IShares China Largecap ETF fell 2.2%.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a

1.35-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.50-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 65 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the

Nasdaq Composite recorded 203 new highs and 33 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.07 billion shares, compared

with the 11.59 billion average for the full session over the

last 20 trading days.