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Dow, S&P 500 set for weekly losses

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Megacap shares recover after Thursday's dour session

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Workday falls after cutting revenue forecast

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Ross Stores ( ROST ) rises after Q1 results beat

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Indexes up: Dow 0.21%, S&P 0.67%, Nasdaq 1.05%

(Updated at 11:45 a.m. ET)

By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

May 24 (Reuters) -

U.S. stock indexes climbed on Friday, regaining some lost

ground following a weak session on Wall Street after inflation

concerns rekindled monetary policy caution ahead of a long

weekend.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped over 1% and was on

track for its fifth straight weekly advance, while the blue-chip

Dow was set for its first weekly decline in five after

dropping to a two-week low on Thursday.

Trading volumes for the day are expected to be light,

with the U.S. equity market closed on Monday for Memorial Day.

All three main indexes fell on Thursday as economic data

pointing to rising price pressures dented bets of interest-rate

cuts this year, taking the limelight off Nvidia's ( NVDA )

blowout quarterly results that reinforced investor faith in Big

Tech's bet on artificial intelligence.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares rose 0.6% after jumping more than 9% a day

earlier, closing above the key $1,000 mark and adding around

$218 billion to its market value.

Reuters reported the company's most advanced AI chip

developed for China had a weak start, with abundant supply

forcing it to be priced below Huawei's rival chip.

Other megacap stocks including Apple ( AAPL ), Alphabet

and Meta Platforms ( META ) also jumped between 0.8%

and 2.5%.

Communication services gained 1.2%, leading

gains across major S&P 500 sectors.

Fresh data showed orders for durable goods rose 0.7% in

April, compared with a 0.8% dip expected by economists polled by

Reuters, while the University of Michigan's final consumer

sentiment index for May came in at 69.1, above expectations of

67.5.

"The prior month's data was revised (lower) and if we look

at that in combined with a decent reading this month, it tells

us as far as the bigger picture, durable goods are going to be

somewhat muted for the quarter," said Brian Klimke, chief market

strategist at Cetera Investment Management.

"Our view is that the Fed may cut rates more than the

market is anticipating. We're in the camp that we could see as

many as three cuts this year."

Traders expect the U.S. central bank to ease its interest

rates by 34 basis points by year-end. Goldman Sachs pushed back

its call for a first rate cut to September from July.

Small-cap stocks regained some ground, with the Russell

2000 rising 0.9% after Thursday's losses.

U.S. equity funds secured substantial inflows in the week

ended May 22, boosted by optimism around robust corporate

earnings. LSEG Lipper data showed investors pumped $9.9 billion

into U.S. equity funds, significantly higher than $4.1 billion a

week earlier.

At 11:45 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

was up 80.15 points, or 0.21%, at 39,145.41, the S&P 500

was up 35.45 points, or 0.67%, at 5,303.29, and the Nasdaq

Composite was up 176.56 points, or 1.05%, at 16,912.60.

Workday dropped 13.9% after the human resources

software provider cut its annual subscription revenue forecast.

Ross Stores ( ROST ) jumped 9.8% after posting first-quarter

results above estimates and raising its annual profit forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.22-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.89-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 26 new 52-week highs and five new

lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 47 new highs and 82 new lows.