(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

*

Indexes up: Dow 1.42%, S&P 500 1.23%, Nasdaq 1.12%

*

Lilly becomes first drugmaker to join trillion-dollar club

*

Intuit gains after Q2 revenue growth tops estimates

(Updates with afternoon trading levels)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Pranav Kashyap

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes gained on

Friday as traders boosted bets on an interest rate cut by the

Federal Reserve next month following remarks from policymakers,

while technology shares steadied after a bruising selloff in the

previous session.

Stocks have swung rapidly between gains and losses in

the past two sessions, reflecting heightened investor anxiety

over sky-high valuations in the technology sector and

possibility of a rate cut next month.

Despite Friday's gain, all three main indexes are set

for a weekly drop of about 2% each.

New York Fed President John Williams, a voting member of

the Federal Open Market Committee, said the central bank can

still cut rates "in the near term" without putting its inflation

goal at risk.

Traders now see a more than 70% chance that the Fed will cut

its main lending rate by 25 basis points in December, up from a

near 37% chance seen earlier in the day, according to the CME

FedWatch Tool.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins, however, said on CNBC

policy was "in the right place", indicating skepticism about the

need for another rate cut. Her stance contrasts with dovish

signals from some peers, a divergence that could stoke market

volatility ahead of the December meeting.

"The next Fed move is not going to be a rate hike, it's

going to be a cut and so investors can take confidence that the

Fed is continuing on a gradual basis in an easing mode," said

Hank Smith, director and head of investment strategy at

Haverford Trust.

Global brokerages remained divided over the likelihood of a

December rate cut after Thursday's release of the long-delayed

September jobs report, which marks the last employment reading

before the Fed's verdict next month.

At 12:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 649.61 points, or 1.42%, to 46,401.87, the S&P 500

gained 80.69 points, or 1.23%, to 6,619.45 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 247.12 points, or 1.12%, to 22,325.17.

Most megacap and growth stocks rose, with Alphabet

leading with a 3% gain.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was flat after a volatile session on

Thursday, when its shares swung as much as 5% higher before

closing 3.2% down following the AI bellwether's third-quarter

results.

Ten of the 11 S&P sub-sectors were trading higher on

Friday, though most were headed for weekly declines.

In the latest on the data front, the U.S. Bureau of

Labor Statistics said on Friday it had

canceled

the release of October's consumer price report. A

November business report was also on the radar.

Intuit gained 5.6% after the financial management

tools company forecast second-quarter revenue growth above

market expectations.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) rose 1.5%, becoming the first drugmaker to

touch a $1 trillion market capitalization.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.84-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 2.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and seven new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 27 new highs and 280

new lows.