(Updates with afternoon trading)

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August CPI at 0.4% MoM versus 0.3% estimated

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Micron jumps after Citigroup hikes PT

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Centene ( CNC ) advances after reaffirming annual profit forecast

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S&P 500 +0.80%, Nasdaq +0.71%, Dow +1.35%

By Noel Randewich and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on

Thursday, hitting record highs, lifted by gains in Tesla and

Micron Technology ( MU ), after U.S. inflation and jobless data fed

market expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest

rates this month.

U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in August and the

annual increase in inflation was the largest in seven months.

In a separate reading, initial jobless claims for the week

ended September 6 stood at 263,000, at a near four-year high.

"Inflation has been sticky ... Whether we would call it

stagflation or not, people have different definitions of it. But

certainly we are in a period that is unusual relative to the

last several years, as the job market is slowing down

considerably while inflation does not follow suit," said Atsi

Sheth, Chief Credit Officer at Moody's Ratings in New York.

Sheth predicted the Fed will reduce interest rates by 25

basis points next week, and another 25 basis points by year end.

Futures trading indicates that traders are certain the Fed

will cut rates by at least 25 basis points at its policy meeting

next week, with about a 7% chance of a deeper 50 basis point

cut. That follows a series of bleak labor market datasets and

Wednesday's cooler-than-expected producer inflation reading.

Tesla climbed 5%, helping the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit

record highs.

Micron Technology ( MU ) surged over 9% to $153 after

Citigroup raised its price target on the memory chipmaker to

$175 from $150. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index

rose 0.9%, also hitting an all-time high.

Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) surged 31% after the Wall

Street Journal reported that Paramount Skydance ( PSKY ) is

preparing a majority cash bid for the struggling media company.

The S&P 500 was up 0.80% at 6,584.31 points.

The Nasdaq gained 0.71% to 22,041.03 points. The Dow

Jones Industrial Average hit a record high and was up 1.35% at

46,104.55 points.

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

, up 1.92%, followed by a 1.78% gain in consumer

discretionary.

Centene ( CNC ) jumped 12% after the health insurer reaffirmed

its annual profit forecast and said quality ratings for its

Medicare plans were in line with expectations.

Oracle dipped 3%, giving back some of a 36% surge the day

before that added

new fuel

to Wall Street's AI rally.

Delta Airlines fell 1.7% after the carrier

reaffirmed its annual profit forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P

500 by a 7.5-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 36 new highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq

recorded 129 new highs and 39 new lows.