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Carmakers rise after report Trump aides seeking selective

tariffs

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Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index hit two-month high

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Citigroup ( C/PN ) gains on brokerage upgrade

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Fed's Barr to resign early; banks rise

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Indexes up: Dow 0.16%, S&P 500 0.70%, Nasdaq 1.24%

(Updates to mid-session trading)

By Sruthi Shankar, Johann M Cherian and Carolina Mandl

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on

Monday to more than one-week highs, boosted by a rally in

semiconductor stocks and a report that suggested the incoming

Trump administration could adopt a less aggressive tariff stance

than expected.

At 1:55 p.m. EST (1855 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial

Average rose 67.29 points, or 0.16%, to 42,799.42, the

S&P 500 gained 41.70 points, or 0.70%, to 5,984.17 and

the Nasdaq Composite gained 243.81 points, or 1.24%, to

19,865.49.

Automakers rose, with Ford up 1.6% and General Motors ( GM )

gaining 3.37%, after a newspaper report said

President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration is

focused on imposing tariffs on every country, but only certain

sectors deemed critical to national or economic security. Trump

later refuted the report.

"He did come out and say that he's not going to water down

his tariff plan, but the seed has been planted that the Trump

administration's tariff policies won't be quite as shocking as

people originally feared," said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist

at Annex Wealth Management.

Automobile manufacturers are considered the most vulnerable

to tariffs imposed on U.S. trade partners, given their vast

supply chains.

Leading up to Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, investors are

seeking insights into his policies, which are broadly seen as

beneficial for corporate America as well as the U.S. economy.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks domestically

focused small-cap companies, rose 0.78%.

Eight of 11 S&P 500 sectors advanced, with communication

services stocks leading gains, climbing 1.73%.

Chipmakers got a boost from Microsoft's ( MSFT ) plan to

invest $80 billion to develop artificial-intelligence-enabled

data centers, as well as Foxconn's forecast-beating

fourth-quarter revenue.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) gained 4.54%, Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD )

added 3.77% and Micron Technology ( MU ) soared 12.15%. The

Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index jumped 3.45% to hit a

two-month high.

U.S. stocks had rebounded sharply on Friday after a string

of losses in December and the first few sessions of January,

when concerns about high valuations, rising Treasury yields and

thin liquidity saw traders pull back after a strong 2024 run.

In a week packed with economic data and speeches from U.S.

Federal Reserve officials, investors will look for clues on the

pace of monetary policy easing this year. Later in the week, the

focus will be on a monthly payrolls report.

While Trump's proposals could boost corporate profits and

energize the economy, they also risk driving up inflation. Fed

Governor Lisa Cook was the latest among a number of policymakers

to caution that inflation risks remain in the new year.

Citigroup ( C/PN ) added 3.15% after a bullish rating from

Barclays. An index tracking banks rose 0.88%. Fed Vice

Chair for Supervision Michael Barr, who has sought a range of

strict rules on the nation's biggest banks, said he will resign.

Markets will be shut on Thursday for a national day of

mourning to mark the death of former President Jimmy Carter.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.47-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted eight new 52-week highs and six new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 88 new highs and 27 new

lows.