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Micron Technology ( MU ) surges after upbeat Q3 rev forecast

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

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Dow nears 40,000 points for the first time

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Indexes up: Dow 0.79%, S&P 0.47%, Nasdaq 0.40%

(Updated prices at 02:32 p.m ET/ 1832 GMT)

By Sinéad Carew and Bansari Mayur Kamdar

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

indexes touched record highs on Thursday as chip stocks rallied

following Micron Technology's ( MU ) upbeat forecast, and investors

took comfort in the Federal Reserve sticking to its

three-rate-cut view for this year.

Shares in Micron Technology ( MU ) were up 16% after hitting

an all-time high following a surprise quarterly profit and its

forecast of third-quarter revenue above estimates.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) gained 7% and was the biggest index point

boost to the S&P technology sector after TD Cowen upgraded its

rating of the stock to "outperform". Nvidia ( NVDA ), up 1.5%

was also a big boost while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index

advanced 2.9%.

U.S. stock indexes had closed higher 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 in a press conference after the

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 was adding 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.

A separate reading showed flash U.S. Composite PMI Output

Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, came

in at 52.2 this month versus 52.5 in February.

At 02:32 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

313.03 points, or 0.79% , to 39,825.16, the S&P 500

gained 24.25 points, or 0.47%, to 5,249.01 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 66.04 points, or 0.40%, to 16,435.45.

The three major indexes hit fresh intra-day record highs,

with the Dow coming as close as its ever been to the 40,000

points milestone.

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%.

Apple ( AAPL ) also bucked the market trend, falling 4%

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.

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) led a banking stock rally, and was last

up 4.2%.

IT services provider Accenture fell 9% after it cut

its fiscal-year 2024 revenue forecast, with economic uncertainty

prompting its clients to cut consulting services spending.

Reddit shares started trading on the New York Stock

Exchange at $47, which was 38% higher than its initial public

offer price of $34.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.69-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, which showed 843 new highs and 51 new lows.

On the Nasdaq composite 1,849 stocks rose and 1,197 fell as

advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a ratio of 1.54-to-1.

The S&P 500 posted 112 new 52-week highs and no new lows

while the Nasdaq recorded 331 new highs and 54 new lows.