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US weekly jobless claims slip; Q2 GDP unrevised

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Accenture ( ACN ) gains after upbeat annual revenue forecast

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Miners jump after report of Chinese stimulus

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Indexes up: Dow 0.55%, S&P 500 0.34%, Nasdaq 0.47%

(Updated at 1146 ET/1546 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 26 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose in

choppy trading on Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting an intraday

record high after Micron's upbeat forecast rekindled the hype

around artificial intelligence, and a soft jobless claims report

soothed worries about the labor market.

Micron Technology ( MU ) jumped 12.9% after the memory chip

maker forecast higher-than-expected first-quarter revenue,

underscoring that demand for memory chips used in AI computing

was robust.

Most chip stocks traded up, sending the broader

Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index 2% higher.

Investors also scrutinized a

Labor Department report

that showed jobless claims dropped to a four-month low last

week, while the

final reading of gross domestic product

confirmed that the economy grew 3% in the second quarter.

"If there's a problem in the labor market, it's not

showing up in the weekly jobless claims data. Numbers like this

will likely keep soft-landing hopes alive and well," said Chris

Larkin, managing director of trading and investing at E*TRADE.

At 11:46 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

231.95 points, or 0.55%, to 42,143.85, the S&P 500 gained

19.59 points, or 0.34%, to 5,741.85 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 84.67 points, or 0.47%, to 18,166.88.

Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, led by a 1.9% gain

in

materials stocks.

Metal prices got a boost after China pledged to deploy

"necessary fiscal spending". Copper miners such as

Freeport-McMoRan ( FCX ) rose 7.7%, while lithium miners such as

Albemarle climbed 7% and Arcadium added 5.6%.

However, energy stocks slipped 1.7%, tracking crude

prices that slid on expectations of greater supply by the OPEC.

The Russell 2000 index tracking small caps

outperformed the broader market with a 0.8% gain.

The benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow have

hit multiple record highs this year and the tech-laden Nasdaq

is about 2% away from its own milestone. Optimism around

AI and expectations of lower interest rates have led markets to

rally this year.

Late on Wednesday, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said she

"strongly supported" the central bank's decision to kick off

monetary policy easing last week.

Investors have been swaying between a 25 and a 50 bps

cut since the Fed commenced its easing cycle, with bets

favouring a bigger cut now, up from 38.8% a week ago, as per the

CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

"The employment situation report next week is going to help

really settle the debate about whether the November Fed meeting

will be a 25 or 50 basis point cut," said Brian Jacobson, chief

economist at Annex Wealth Management.

Among others, U.S.-listed Chinese firms such as Li Auto

gained 7.1%, PDD Holdings advanced 11.7%, while

Alibaba added 9.5%.

Wells Fargo ( WFC ) gained 4.5% after a report showed the

banking giant had sent the Fed a review for lifting asset cap

restrictions.

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) climbed 10.7% after the

carrier

raised

its third-quarter revenue forecast, while Accenture ( ACN )

gained 4.5% after the IT services provider

forecast

annual revenue above estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.41-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.34-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 47 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 77 new highs and 68

new lows.