* Indexes up: Dow 2.33%, S&P 500 2.13%, Nasdaq 2.56%

* Oil stocks tumble as crude prices slump to below $100 a

barrel

* Airlines, cruise operators rally on lower oil prices

* Levi Strauss gains after annual earnings forecast raise

(Updates with late-morning prices)

By Purvi Agarwal and Avinash P

April 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes climbed

to near one-month highs on Wednesday after the U.S. and Iran

agreed to a two-week ceasefire, sending crude prices lower on

expectations that energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz

could resume.

The announcement came hours before U.S. President Donald

Trump's deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with a

senior Iranian official saying the passage could be opened this

week ahead of peace talks if the countries agreed upon a

framework for the ceasefire.

However, there was some alarm that fighting was still raging

across the region, with attacks on Lebanon and Iran's neighbors.

Global markets, which had been reeling under conflicting

signals for weeks, staged a rally, with stock bourses in Asia

and Europe rising, while crude prices slid below $100 a barrel.

"Even though there is still uncertainty over how durable

this ceasefire is, stocks can move higher even without all of

the details ironed out... just the scent of thawing tensions is

enough," said Robert Edwards, chief investment officer, Edwards

Asset Management.

At 11:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 1,084.78 points, or 2.33%, to 47,669.24, the S&P 500

gained 140.76 points, or 2.13%, to 6,757.61 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 563.74 points, or 2.56%, to 22,581.59.

The small-cap Russell 2000 Index jumped 2.8% to a

more than one-month high, while the CBOE Volatility Index

slumped 4.50 points to 21.28, after hitting its lowest point

since February 27.

The S&P 500 energy sector was the only one in the

red, down almost 4.6%. Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) and Chevron ( CVX )

dropped 5.6% each, and Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ) lost 6.4%.

Travel-linked stocks jumped, with Southwest Airlines ( LUV )

and United Airlines advancing 7.2% and 9.8%,

respectively. They boosted industrial stocks on the S&P 500

by 3.5%, the top gainer among other sectors.

Cruise operators Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line ( NCLH )

added 10.8% and 8.7%, respectively.

The S&P 500 tech index rose 2.6%, helped by

chip-linked stocks. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index

briefly hit a record high, last up 5.3%.

"When you're looking to put money back to work, you're

looking for stocks that did not absolutely crater and some

bigger ones like AMD held up relatively well," said Robert

Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

The Dow was lifted by gains in Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and

American Express ( AXP ).

Investors are awaiting domestic inflation readings, expected

later this week, to gauge whether the elevated crude prices

during the war have added to price pressures.

They will also closely monitor comments from Federal Reserve

officials and minutes from its March meeting, later in the day.

Market bets show an about 30% chance of a 25-basis-point cut

in December, according to CME's Fedwatch Tool, up from 13.6% a

day ago. Traders expected two cuts before the war broke out.

Among other movers, Levi Strauss gained 10.8% after

the denim apparel maker raised its annual sales and profit

forecasts.

Delta Airlines advanced 6%, in line with peers,

despite forecasting lower-than-expected profit for the second

quarter.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 6.04-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 3.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and no new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 118 new highs and 28 new

lows.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian, Purvi Agarwal and Avinash P in

Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and

Shinjini Ganguli)