* Wall Street indexes rise after U.S. and Iran sign deal

* Intel ( INTC ) up after Trump says co to partner with Apple ( AAPL ) on chip

design

* Accenture ( ACN ) tumbles after trimming the top end of its FY

revenue forecast

* Data showed weekly jobless claims fell amid low layoffs

(Updates with preliminary closing prices)

By Sinéad Carew and Twesha Dikshit

June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes closed higher on

Thursday, with a strong boost from semiconductor shares and

easing inflation fears, although investors still priced in

interest rate hikes this year from the Federal Reserve.

The Philadelphia semiconductor index sharply

outperformed the rest of the market as Intel's ( INTC ) shares

jumped to a record high. U.S. President Donald Trump said iPhone

maker Apple ( AAPL ) had agreed to work with Intel ( INTC ) to design and

manufacture its chips in the U.S.

Early in the session, oil prices slid to their lowest levels

since early March after the U.S. and Iran signed an interim

agreement that extends the April ceasefire by another 60 days to

allow the sides time to reach a final deal.

Although Trump threatened to resume attacks if Iran failed

to honor its commitments, the first ships started sailing

through the Strait of Hormuz, where transportation of oil, gas,

fertilizer and other cargoes had been disrupted since the start

of the war.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 78.31 points, or 1.06%, to end at 7,498.41 points,

while the Nasdaq Composite gained 496.28 points, or

1.87%, to 26,507.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 70.29 points, or 0.14%, to 51,562.84.

All three of Wall Street's major indexes tumbled in the

previous session as investors priced in the likelihood of Fed

rate hikes, after the central bank's new Chair Kevin Warsh

underscored the need to curb inflation and other policymakers

signaled higher borrowing costs ahead.

"Markets got spooked by Warsh yesterday essentially

promising to contain inflation," said Tony Welch, chief

investment officer at SignatureFD, but he pointed to easing oil

prices and recent strength in earnings and economic data. "All

together, the package of data is still supportive whether or not

the Fed has become a little bit more hawkish."

Traders were betting on a roughly 50% chance of a

25-basis-point rate hike as soon as September and a roughly 20%

probability for a 50-basis-point hike, according to CME Group's

FedWatch tool.

Investors were still assessing Warsh's indication that the

Fed would provide less guidance on future policy moves and his

stated focus on price stability. Eric Johnston, chief equity and

macro strategist at Cantor, said: "The conclusion today is that

the Fed has more credibility around inflation."

On the data front, Labor Department data showed the number

of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last

week as layoffs remained low.

In individual stocks, shares of Accenture ( ACN ) tumbled

after the company trimmed the top end of its annual revenue

forecast. Peers including Cognizant Technology Solutions ( CTSH )

, Gartner ( IT ) and IBM ( IBM ) fell in sympathy.

Among other movers, Kroger ( KR ) shares fell after the

grocer reported a lower-than-expected profit for the first

quarter and kept its annual forecasts unchanged.

Shares in Elon Musk's SpaceX fell for a second straight

day, after the space and AI company had rallied sharply for the

first few days of trading after its market debut last Friday.

Thursday also marked the once-in-a-quarter simultaneous

expiry of derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options

and futures, also known as "triple witching," which can boost

trading volume and aggravate volatility.