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Peabody Energy falls; will buy Anglo American's coal mines

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Barclays raises full-year S&P 500 forecast

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Macy's slides after delaying Q3 report on accounting issue

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Indexes up: Dow 0.72%, S&P 500 0.21%, Nasdaq 0.21%

(Updates with mid-session trading)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes climbed on

Monday, with the small-cap Russell 2000 index hitting an

all-time high after Scott Bessent's nomination as Treasury

secretary boosted sentiment and focus turned to ongoing

discussions for a Middle East ceasefire.

President-elect Donald Trump ended weeks of speculation when

he named his choice late on Friday, with some investment

strategists saying Bessent could take measures to restrain

further government borrowing, even as he follows through on

fiscal and trade campaign pledges.

Markets also focused on talks of a ceasefire deal

between Israel and Lebanon. Oil prices slid, dragging the Energy

index lower 1.5%.

At 12:12 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 319.86 points, or 0.72%, to 44,616.37, the S&P 500

gained 12.27 points, or 0.21%, to 5,981.61 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 40.07 points, or 0.21%, to 19,043.72.

The small-cap index hit an all-time high of

2,466.48 and was last up 2%, eclipsing the high it touched three

years ago, as Treasury yields declined sharply, with the 30-year

bond leading losses across the board.

"We're definitely seeing a broadening out of leadership

in the market," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park

Investments in New York.

"Areas that were lagging for most of this year are beginning

to outperform, such as the small-cap and the mid-cap stocks, not

just due to Trump, but also due to the Federal Reserve cutting

rates.

Expectations that Trump, along with a Republican

Congress, can make good on his promise of business-friendly

policies have been the latest tailwinds for small-cap companies.

They have been in the spotlight since the U.S. Federal Reserve

commenced its monetary policy easing cycle in September.

Lower yields helped the rate-sensitive Real Estate

sector rise 1.1%, while the Housing index

advanced 4.8%, trading near a record high.

The Dow and the S&P 500 touched intraday record high

levels on the day. The benchmark index has jumped more than 4%

since Nov. 4, while the Russell 2000 index surged more than 8%

in the same period.

Barclays raised its full-year 2025 forecast for the S&P

500, while Deutsche Bank set its target at 7,000 points by

2025-end.

However, concerns remain that inflationary pressures

could spike and slow the pace of the Fed's policy easing.

Investors have recently swung between expectations of a

pause versus a further cut in interest rates at the Fed's

December meeting. The CME Group's FedWatch Tool shows a 56.2%

probability the central bank will deliver another 25 basis point

cut.

Consumer Discretionary stocks led sectoral gains,

aided by Amazon.com's ( AMZN ) 1.8% rise.

The Personal Consumption Expenditure report, the central

bank's preferred inflation gauge, will be on investors' radar

later this Thanksgiving week.

Macy's fell 3% after the department-store operator

delayed the publication

of its third-quarter results due to an accounting issue.

Bath & Body Works ( BBWI ) raised

its forecast for full-year

adjusted profit, sending the retailer's shares up 15.5%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.23-to-1

ratio on the NYSE, and by a 2.8-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 100 new 52-week highs and no new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 328 new highs and 44

new lows.