(Recasts with preliminary close of trading)

* 3M ( MMM ) shares rally after company boosts annual profit

forecast

* Danaher ( DHR ) falls after cutting annual core revenue growth

forecast

* US imposes new 50% tariffs on Canadian imports

By Sinéad Carew and Ragini Mathur

July 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes closed higher

on Tuesday, as a steep rally in semiconductor shares helped

shift the focus away from the latest Middle East hostilities and

tariff battles, while investors looked ahead to major technology

earnings reports for clues on the future of the AI trade.

Gains in recently battered semiconductor stocks provided

huge support for the main U.S. stock indexes and the

Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index rallied sharply in

its second consecutive advance after ending Friday more than 20%

below its late-June record high.

"Investors are really buying back in to the semis ahead of

earnings because they have fear of missing out (FOMO), that

these companies could report outsized earnings beats and

increase their outlooks and they don't own as much as they did

before the most recent pullback," said Lindsey Bell, chief

investment strategist at 248 Ventures in Charlotte, North

Carolina.

But Bell cautioned that when stocks rally sharply ahead of

earnings, "it makes it more difficult for them to run in

response to earnings."

"The numbers are going to be really good, but the stocks are

also priced for perfection," she said. The chip index dipped

last week as investors grew concerned about high valuations and

hefty investments on artificial intelligence. But even after

that drop, it is still up nearly 75% year-to-date.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained

64.04 points, or 0.86%, to end at 7,507.32 points, while the

Nasdaq Composite gained 321.53 points, or 1.26%, to

25,829.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 384.46

points, or 0.74%, to 52,223.72.

Among the benchmark's 11 major industry sectors, information

technology led the gains during the session while

consumer staples stocks lagged.

Equity investors appeared to shrug off President Donald Trump's

unveiling of 50% tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada

on Monday.

They also looked past geopolitics even as oil prices settled up

2% after hitting five-week highs. This was after two oil tankers

carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed course in the Red Sea

after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis threatened to impose a

blockade on commercial shipping there. Trump said the United

States would respond if the Houthis followed through.

"Investors see (the war) as transitory because we know two

things - that $100 oil is a pressure point for Trump, and we

also know that midterm elections are coming up," Bell said.

Meanwhile, their focus this week will turn to results from

Alphabet and chipmakers Intel ( INTC ) and Texas

Instruments ( TXN ).

Among individual stocks, 3M ( MMM ) shares rallied after the

industrial giant lifted its full-year profit forecast. Hasbro ( HAS )

stock climbed sharply after it raised annual revenue and

profit forecasts, betting on demand for its digital gaming and

"Magic: The Gathering" products.

Danaher ( DHR ) shares sank after the life sciences firm

trimmed its core revenue growth outlook and reported

weaker-than-expected revenue in its biotechnology business.

MSCI ( MSCI ) shares tumbled after the index provider raised its

full-year operating expense forecast despite

better-than-expected quarterly revenue. And Genuine Parts ( GPC )

shares dropped after the auto parts distributor lowered

its full-year profit outlook.