* Indexes up: Dow 0.53%, S&P 500 0.95%, Nasdaq 1.63%

* BlackRock ( BLK ) gains after profit rises

* Wells Fargo ( WFC ) falls after results, Citi hits highest

level since 2008

* United, American Airlines ( AAL ) climb after report of merger

pitch

(Updates prices to late afternoon)

By Sinéad Carew and Niket Nishant

April 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes advanced

on Tuesday as reports of fresh efforts to resolve the Middle

East conflict boosted sentiment and investors assessed the

latest batch of bank earnings and U.S. inflation readings.

Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the

next two days, U.S. President Donald Trump told the New York

Post on Tuesday, after the collapse of weekend negotiations

prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.

Meanwhile, Israeli and Lebanese envoys went into the talks

hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with conflicting

agendas as Israel demanded Beirut disarm Iran-aligned Hezbollah.

With volatile oil prices dramatically impacting inflation

expectations, the market has been sensitive to developments in

the Middle East, with any headlines about setbacks sending

stocks lower, while even tentative signs of an off-ramp have

been sufficient to encourage investors eager for positive news.

Meanwhile, Tuesday's inflation data provided some signs of

encouragement as U.S. producer prices increased less than

expected in March as the cost of services was unchanged. And

Ameriprise chief market strategist Anthony Saglimbene also cited

a solid start to the U.S. earnings season as a boost for

stocks.

"The market is kind of moving past this concept of peak

uncertainty. There's been a lot of uncertainty in the market,

whether that's coming from the Iran conflict, AI disruption

fears, inflation concerns or Federal Reserve policy concerns,"

he said.

"Markets are starting to kind of walk away from some of the

worst-case scenarios for these events and because valuations

have improved over the last couple of weeks and months,

investors are buying the dip right now."

At 2:33 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 254.15 points, or 0.53%, to 48,472.40, the S&P 500

gained 65.25 points, or 0.95%, to 6,951.49 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 378.42 points, or 1.63%, to 23,562.15.

The S&P 500 rally put it about 0.4% below its late

January record closing high. This was after Monday's close above

its finish on February 27 - the last trading day before the

U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100

was set for a 10-day winning streak, which would be its longest

since 2021.

Elsewhere, software stocks rose 1% after rallying

sharply on Monday to put them on track for their biggest two-day

gain since May last year. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index

was up 1.4% after hitting a fresh record for the fifth

day in a row.

EARNINGS ENCOURAGEMENT

On the earnings front, BlackRock ( BLK ) gained 3.1% after

the asset manager reported a rise in first-quarter profit,

helped by strong inflows into its exchange-traded funds and a

sharp increase in performance fees.

Citigroup ( C ) shares were up 3.4%, hitting their highest

in nearly two decades after beating first-quarter profit

estimates, while Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) added 1.7% after

reporting earnings.

However, JPMorgan ( JPM ) inched 0.5% lower following its

first-quarter results, while Wells Fargo ( WFC ) declined 4.8%

after interest income fell short of market expectations.

Meanwhile, United Airlines and American Airlines ( AAL )

rose 1.8% and 7.6%, respectively. According to a Reuters

report, two unnamed sources said that United CEO Scott Kirby had

pitched a potential merger with American Airlines ( AAL ) to Trump in

late February, raising the prospect of a deal that could reshape

the industry.

Shares of Globalstar ( GSAT ) jumped 9.4% after Amazon.com ( AMZN )

agreed to buy the satellite company.