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Indexes up: Dow 0.6%, S&P 500 0.42%, Nasdaq 0.4%

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Nike ( NKE ) rises after better-than-expected Q1 revenue forecast

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UBS lifts S&P 500 index's target on fading trade tensions

(Updates with market open prices)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Nikhil Sharma

June 27 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes rose on Friday, pushing the

benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq to intraday record

highs as investors pinned their hopes on deeper rate cuts from

the Federal Reserve as well as trade deals with U.S. partners.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both

rose about 0.4%,

surpassing

their previous peaks touched in February and December,

respectively. The Nasdaq looked on course for a new bull market,

having recovered more than 20% from a trough in April due to

tariff turmoil.

Shares of Nvidia ( NVDA ), the world's most valuable

company, rose 0.7% to touch a record high, while other

tech-heavyweights including Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL )

rose 1.8% and 0.9%, respectively.

A Commerce Department

report

showed U.S. consumer spending fell unexpectedly in May as

the boost from the preemptive buying of goods such as motor

vehicles ahead of tariffs faded, while monthly inflation rose

moderately.

"The numbers in general in terms of inflation are not

anything that would change the course of the Fed at this time,

and it still shows that inflation pretty much is going in the

right direction," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at

Spartan Capital Securities.

As the ceasefire in the Middle East holds, investor focus

has turned to the prospect of a dovish Fed after the Wall Street

Journal reported that U.S. President Donald Trump toyed with the

idea of announcing Fed Chair Jerome Powell's replacement by

September or October.

A spate of economic data this week, including a

weaker-than-expected first-quarter GDP reading as well as

jobless claims reaching multi-year highs, has supported the case

for the central bank to cut borrowing costs this year.

Traders now price in an 18.6% chance of a rate cut in July,

compared with 14.5% last week, according to CME Group's FedWatch

tool.

Adding to the upbeat mood, Washington reached an agreement

with China on expediting rare-earth shipments to the United

States, a White House official said, days ahead of the July 9

deadline for Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump

administration's trade deals with other countries could be done

by the September 1 Labor Day holiday, citing the country's 18

main trading partners.

At 09:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 262.05 points, or 0.60%, to 43,648.89, the S&P 500

gained 25.52 points, or 0.42%, to 6,166.54, and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 79.63 points, or 0.40%, to 20,247.54.

The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are on

track for their best weekly performance in more than a month,

while the blue-chip Dow is set for a weekly advance if

gains hold.

UBS Global Wealth Management raised its year-end target for

the S&P 500 to 6,200 from its prior forecast of 6,000, banking

on softening trade uncertainty.

Nike's ( NKE ) shares rose 15.6% after it forecast a

smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter revenue.

Retailer Lululemon Athletica ( LULU ) rose 1.9% after Nike's ( NKE )

results, while Hoka-owner Deckers Outdoor ( DECK ) added 2.8%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.74-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.11-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and one new low,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 46 new highs and 23 new

lows.