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Indexes up: Dow 0.29%, S&P 500 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.20%

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Kroger ( KR ) gains after lifting annual sales target

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Mondelez International ( MDLZ ) up on brokerage upgrade

(Updates after markets open)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

June 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes nudged

higher on Friday, tracking strength in global stocks after

President Donald Trump held off from making an immediate

decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran war.

Trump will take a call in the next two weeks, the White

House said on Thursday, as hostilities between the two Middle

Eastern countries approached their second week.

Markets have been on edge as Trump has kept the world

guessing on his plans - veering from proposing a swift

diplomatic solution to suggesting the U.S. might join the fight

as Israel aims to suppress Tehran's ability to build nuclear

weapons.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters Tehran was ready to

discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment, but zero

enrichment will be rejected "especially now under Israel's

strikes". Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has arrived in Geneva

to meet European counterparts, who are hoping to establish a

path back to diplomacy.

"Any news flow that's going to lean in the direction of

de-escalation is going to be a market positive and we're seeing

that to a certain extent here," said Art Hogan, chief market

strategist at B. Riley Wealth.

Concerns about price pressures in the U.S. were also in

focus after Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday warned

inflation could pick up pace over the summer as the economic

effects of Trump's steep import tariffs kick in. They kept

interest rates unchanged.

On Friday, Fed governor Chris Waller said the central bank

should consider cutting interest rates at its next meeting given

recent tame inflation data and because any price shock from

tariffs will be short-lived.

At 10:06 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 123.38 points, or 0.29%, to 42,295.04, the S&P 500

gained 13.34 points, or 0.22%, to 5,994.21 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 38.74 points, or 0.20%, to 19,585.01.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sub-sectors rose. Real

estate led sector gains with a 0.7% rise. On the flip

side, healthcare stocks lost 0.5%.

All three main indexes are set for weekly gains.

Investors are also bracing for any potential spike in

volatility from Friday's "triple witching" - the simultaneous

expiration of single stock options, stock index futures, and

stock index options contracts that happens once a quarter.

Among megacap stocks, Apple ( AAPL ) advanced 1.3%.

Kroger ( KR ) rose 6.4% after the grocery chain increased

its annual identical sales forecast.

Mondelez International ( MDLZ ) gained 2.4% after

brokerage Wells Fargo upgraded the Cadbury parent to

"overweight" from "equal-weight".

Accenture ( ACN ) fell 7.2% after the IT services provider

said new bookings decreased in the third quarter.

Wall Street's strong gains last month, primarily driven by

a softening in Trump's trade stance and strength in corporate

earnings, had pushed the benchmark S&P 500 index close to its

record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East made

investors risk-averse.

The S&P 500 index now remains 2.4% below its record level,

and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 2.8% lower.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.16-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while

the Nasdaq Composite recorded 55 new highs and 31 new lows.