(Adds final closing prices, volume data, other details after

close of trading)

* Indexes up: Dow 0.74%, S&P 500 0.89%, Nasdaq 1.29%

* 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, with the Nasdaq leading gains 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.

A rebound in recently battered semiconductor stocks provided

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

Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index finished with a 5.2%

rally 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.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 385.38 points,

or 0.74%, to 52,224.64, the S&P 500 gained 65.92 points,

or 0.89%, to 7,509.20 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 329.13 points, or 1.29%, to 25,837.21.

Among the benchmark's 11 major industry sectors, nine

advanced, with a 2.35% rally in information technology

leading the pack. The consumer staples index was the

biggest loser, finishing down 1%, followed by communications

services, which lost 0.85%.

Leading the S&P 500 were Sandisk ( SNDK ), up 14.3%, Western

Digital ( WDC ), which rose 12.5%, and Micron Technology ( MU ),

with a 12.2% advance.

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 7.3% after

the industrial giant lifted its full-year profit forecast.

Hasbro ( HAS ) stock jumped 8.8% after it raised annual revenue

and profit forecasts, betting on demand for its digital gaming

and "Magic: The Gathering" products.

Danaher ( DHR ) shares sank 11% and were the biggest loser in

the S&P 500, after the life sciences firm trimmed its core

revenue growth outlook and reported weaker-than-expected revenue

in its biotechnology business.

Shares of MSCI ( MSCI ), the benchmark's second-biggest loser,

tumbled 10% after the index provider raised its full-year

operating expense forecast despite better-than-expected

quarterly revenue. And Genuine Parts ( GPC ) shares dropped 2.7%

after the auto parts distributor lowered its full-year profit

outlook.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.44-to-1 ratio

on the New York Stock Exchange, where there were 113 new highs

and 116 new lows. On the Nasdaq, 2,995 stocks rose and 1,814

fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.65-to-1

ratio. The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and 7 new lows.

On U.S. exchanges, volume was light, with 16.14 billion

shares changing hands compared with the 19.56 billion moving

average for the last 20 sessions.