* Nike ( NKE ) slumps on forecasting surprise Q4 sales drop

* Intel ( INTC ) jumps after Ireland factory stake buyback plans

* Space stocks gain after report SpaceX filed for

confidential IPO

* S&P 500 +0.56%, Nasdaq +0.87%, Dow +0.45%

(Updates with afternoon trading)

By Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal

April 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street climbed on Wednesday,

with strong gains in Alphabet and other heavyweights, after U.S.

President Donald Trump suggested an end to the Middle East

conflict could be close.

The U.S. will be "out of Iran pretty quickly" and could

return for "spot hits" if needed, Trump told Reuters, hours

before he was scheduled to address the nation about the war.

"We have Trump's comments, which tend to change a bit," said

Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments.

"Everybody's trying to guess as to what he really means by what

he's saying. The markets want it to be positive, they want the

war to be over."

Technology-related heavyweights rallied, with Alphabet

up 3.7%, Meta Platforms ( META ) gaining 2% and Amazon ( AMZN )

up 1.6%.

Wall Street has rallied for two consecutive days as

investors speculated that the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran will

end soon. Energy prices have spiked in the latest month,

sparking fears of global inflation, as the conflict choked the

flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Even after recent gains, the S&P 500 is trading at under 20

times expected earnings, its lowest earnings multiple in 10

months, according to LSEG data.

The PHLX chip index jumped 3% on Wednesday, bringing

its gain in the past two days to about 9%.

SpaceX confidentially filed for an initial public offering,

a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, sending space

stocks higher.

Intuitive Machines ( LUNR ) gained 6%, Planet Labs

was up 8% and Rocket Lab ( RKLB ) added 2.5%. The Destiny

Tech100 ( DXYZ ) investment fund, which owns SpaceX shares,

jumped by more than 8%.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) rose 4.5% after the U.S. Food and Drug

Administration approved the drugmaker's weight loss pill, to be

sold under the brand name Foundayo.

Intel ( INTC ) surged 8.6% after it said it would buy back

Apollo's stake in its Ireland factory for $14.2 billion.

The S&P 500 was up 0.56% at 6,564.87 points. The Nasdaq

gained 0.87% to 21,777.75 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial

Average was up 0.45% at 46,549.46 points.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by

industrials, up 1.77%, followed by a 1.41% gain in

communication services.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge,

slipped to an over one-week low.

Oil prices fell as much as 3%, and the S&P 500 energy index

tumbled 4% to its lowest in over a week. Airlines

jumped, with the S&P Composite Passenger Airlines sub-index

up 2.3%.

Nike ( NKE ) slumped 15% to a decade low after the

sportswear giant forecast a surprise drop in its fourth-quarter

sales.

ADP's national employment report showed private payrolls

increased steadily in March, while retail sales increased by the

most in seven months in February. U.S. manufacturing activity

picked up last month, according to The Institute for Supply

Management's gauge.

Nonfarm payroll figures for March will be in focus on

Friday, although U.S. markets will be closed for the Good Friday

holiday.

Due to increased fears of inflation, traders now believe it

is more likely the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by

year-end than cut rates.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500

by a 1.5-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted five new highs and 10 new lows; the

Nasdaq recorded 57 new highs and 95 new lows.