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Micron Technology ( MU ) surges after upbeat Q3 rev forecast

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Apple ( AAPL ) falls as DOJ sues company over antitrust laws

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Dow gets closer to 40,000 level

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Indexes up: Dow 0.68%, S&P 0.32%, Nasdaq 0.20%

(Updates with final closing prices, volume data)

By Sinéad Carew and Bansari Mayur Kamdar

March 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's three major stock

indexes on Thursday registered record closing highs for the

second day in a row after the Federal Reserve reassured

investors about the prospects for rate cuts this year while chip

stocks rallied after Micron Technology's ( MU ) upbeat forecast.

The three major indexes had also hit fresh intra-day record

highs earlier on Thursday and the Dow ended the day less than 1%

away from the 40,000 for the first time.

Shares in Micron Technology ( MU ) finished up more than 14%

after hitting an all-time high following a surprise quarterly

profit and its forecast of third-quarter revenue above

estimates.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) shares ended up 5.6% after TD Cowen

upgraded its rating of the stock to "outperform". Shares in

Nvidia ( NVDA ) were also a big boost as it added more than

1%while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index rallied

2.3%.

U.S. stock indexes had also boasted record closing levels on

Wednesday after U.S. central bankers kept borrowing costs

unchanged and indicated they still expect to ease interest rates

by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024.

"Earnings results are keeping semiconductors as market

leaders but more broadly a risk on mode has stemmed from the

dovish Fed on Wednesday," said Matthew Miskin, Co-Chief

Investment Strategist at John Hancock Investment Management.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said told reporters after the Fed's

policy meeting on Wednesday that inflation reports "haven't

really changed the overall story, which is that of inflation

moving down gradually on a sometimes bumpy road to 2%."

But John Hancock's Miskin questioned whether the Fed is

being overly optimistic about inflation and rate cuts.

"They're opening to door to let inflation risk seep back

into the market. It's not there yet but it's a risk that could

come later this year," he said.

In the meantime, however, economic data released earlier on

Thursday added to investors' bullish moods.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment

benefits unexpectedly fell last week, while sales of previously

owned homes increased by the most in a year in February, signs

the economy remained on solid footing in the first quarter.

"This economy continues to defy expectations and markets are

loving every minute of it," said Miskin.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 269.24 points,

or 0.68% , to 39,781.37, the S&P 500 gained 16.91 points,

or 0.32%, to 5,241.53 and the Nasdaq Composite gained

32.43 points, or 0.20%, to 16,401.84.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 industry sectors were

higher, with industrials leading gains, up 1%. The

weakest sector was communications services, which was

down 0.2% with its biggest drag from Alphabet, down

0.1%.

Nine of the 11 major S&P 500 industry sectors were higher,

with industrials leading gains and finishing up 1%.

The weakest sector was utilities, which ended down

0.2%, followed by a 0.17% drop in communications services

, which saw its biggest drag from Alphabet,

down 0.8%.

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) closed up 4.4%, leading gains in

the Dow and in the rate sensitive bank sector. The S&P 500 bank

sector added 1.7%.

Apple ( AAPL ) bucked the market trend by closing down 4.1%

after the U.S. Department of Justice sued the iPhone maker, the

first major antitrust effort against the company by the Biden

administration, alleging it monopolized smartphone markets.

Shares in IT services provider Accenture tumbled 9%

after it cut its fiscal-year 2024 revenue forecast, with

economic uncertainty prompting its clients to cut consulting

services spending.

Reddit shares closed at $50.44 after it started

trading on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time with

at $47, which was 38% above its $34 initial public offer price.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.34-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE which showed 918 new highs and 56 new lows.

On the Nasdaq Composite, 1,776 stocks rose and 1,400

fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.27-to-1

ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 116 new 52-week highs and one new low

while the Nasdaq recorded 365 new highs and 59 new lows.

On U.S. exchanges 11.43 billion shares changed hands

compared with the 12.39 billion moving average for the last 20

sessions.