* Meta gains after report it plans to shrink 20% jobs

* Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) rallies after signaling tariff relief

* Nvidia's ( NVDA ) conference could boost AI confidence

* S&P 500 +1.12%, Nasdaq +1.40%, Dow +0.90%

(Updates with stock moves at mid-afternoon)

By Noel Randewich and Johann M Cherian

March 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied on Monday, led

higher by AI-related stocks, with Meta Platforms climbing after

a report that it is preparing for sweeping layoffs, while oil

prices retreated amid ongoing uncertainty about the Middle East

conflict.

Meta jumped 5.1% after Reuters reported that the

social media platform plans to shrink its workforce by 20% or

more to offset costly artificial-intelligence infrastructure

bets and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by

AI-assisted workers.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) climbed 2.4% as CEO Jensen Huang kicked off

the chipmaker's annual developer conference, where he was set to

detail its hardware and software plans.

Taiwan's Foxconn, which makes AI servers using

Nvidia ( NVDA ) chips, issued a strong quarterly revenue forecast on

Monday.

Tesla rose 1.5% after Elon Musk said the company's

Terafab project to make AI chips will launch in seven days.

Micron Technology ( MU ) jumped 5.2% after the memory

chipmaker announced plans for a second manufacturing facility in

Taiwan.

A modest drop in crude prices after the U.S. said it would be

"fine" with some Iranian, Indian and Chinese ships moving

through the Strait of Hormuz, also offered some relief to the

market.

"You've got news that Iranian oil tankers are moving

through, or are soon going to be moving through, the Strait of

Hormuz, which is a positive for global economic stability," said

Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth

Management in Minneapolis.

"But on balance, the path forward is filled with twists and

turns. ... There's lack of visibility when the conflict is

likely to end."

Higher energy prices are likely to feature prominently in

central bank meetings globally this week.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged

at the end of its two-day meeting on Wednesday. Traders have

pushed back their expectations for an interest rate cut of at

least 25 basis points beyond October, according to LSEG-compiled

data, compared with their previous expectation of a cut in July.

"There are a couple of reasons to take any signals from this

meeting with a pinch of salt. First, a swing in oil prices in

either direction could quickly change the Fed's thinking, and

second, markets might slightly discount messages from Chair

(Jerome) Powell, given this will be one of the last of his

term," said James McCann, senior economist at Edward Jones in a

note.

The S&P 500 was up 1.12% at 6,706.77 points.

The Nasdaq gained 1.40% to 22,413.67 points, while the Dow

Jones Industrial Average was up 0.90% at 46,979.26 points.

All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by information

technology, up 1.8%, followed by a 1.29% gain in

consumer discretionary.

Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE volatility index,

dropped 3.4 points to 23.8, while the rate-sensitive Russell

2000 index gained 1.1%.

Despite logging declines over the past three weeks, U.S.

equities have fared better than global peers, buoyed by a

rebound in beaten-down technology stocks and as the country is a

net oil exporter. However, the S&P 500 remains down about 2% so

far in 2026.

February industrial production increased 0.2%, slightly better

than expectations of a 0.1% rise.

Travel stocks Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) and Norwegian Cruise

Line Holdings ( NCLH ) gained 2.8% and 4.9%, respectively,

lifted by lower oil prices.

Crypto stock Strategy Inc ( MSTR ) added 5.5% as bitcoin

rallied over 3%.

Discount retailer Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) gained 6% after signaling

it could benefit from favorable tariffs in the near term.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500

by a 4.1-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new highs and 10 new lows; the Nasdaq

recorded 42 new highs and 122 new lows.