*

S&P up 0.48%, Nasdaq up 0.94%, Dow up 0.27%

*

Intel ( INTC ) jumps as Nvidia ( NVDA ) takes $5 bln stake in co

*

Small-cap Russell 2000 index rises

By Abigail Summerville and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 18 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes posted record-high closes on

Thursday, a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a

quarter-point interest rate cut, while chipmaker Intel ( INTC ) rose

after Nvidia ( NVDA ) decided to build a stake in the company.

Intel ( INTC ) clinched its biggest daily gain since October

1987, jumping 22.8% after Nvidia ( NVDA ) said it would invest

$5 billion in the struggling U.S. chipmaker. Peer Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ) slipped 0.8%.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 3.5%, recovering losses from Wednesday when a

report said Chinese tech firms might stop buying its chips.

The moves boosted a broader semiconductor index up 3.6%,

and also lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 technology

sector up 1.36%. Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sectors

gained.

Meanwhile, the small-cap Russell 2000 index notched

its first record high close since November 2021, closing at

2,467.70 points. Small-cap companies are likely to perform

better in a low interest-rate environment.

On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that the

softening jobs market was a priority and indicated more

reductions could follow at upcoming policy meetings.

"We are looking for support for economic growth and

justification of stretched valuations and the prospect of lower

interest rates helps that," said Sam Stovall, chief investment

strategist at CFRA Research.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 124.10 points,

or 0.27%, to 46,142.42, the S&P 500 gained 31.61 points,

or 0.48%, to 6,631.96 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 209.40 points, or 0.94%, to 22,470.73.

The biggest S&P sector decliners were consumer staples

and consumer discretionary stocks.

New data showed that the number of Americans filing new

applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, but the

labor market has softened as both demand for and supply of

workers have diminished.

The rate cut is expected to add to Wall Street's recent rally,

boosted by monetary policy easing hopes and a revival of

AI-linked stock trading. Investors are pricing in about

44.2 basis points in cuts by end-2025, data compiled by LSEG

showed.

Among stocks, CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gained 12.8% after at least

nine brokerages raised their price target on the stock.

Shares of Darden Restaurants ( DRI ) fell 7.7% after the Olive

Garden ( DRI ) parent reported weak quarterly results.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.87-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE, and by a 2.5-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 31 new 52-week highs and eight new

lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 156 new

highs and 42 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 19.30 billion shares, compared

with the 16.67 billion average for the full session over the

last 20 trading days.