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US weekly jobless claims unchanged

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S&P, Nasdaq, semiconductor index hit fresh record highs

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Indexes up: Dow 0.34%, S&P 1.03%, Nasdaq 1.51%

(Updates with final closing prices, volume data)

By Sinéad Carew and Bansari Mayur Kamdar

March 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street charged ahead on

Thursday, with the S&P 500 rising 1% to a record closing high

while the Nasdaq composite finished up 1.5%, with the biggest

boosts from technology and growth stocks on increasing investor

optimism about prospects for Federal Reserve rate cuts this

year.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index outperformed the

broader market to finish up 3.36% at a record closing high as

investors piled into chip companies, which they see as key

beneficiaries to artificial intelligence related demand.

In Washington, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a U.S. Senate

committee that the U.S. central bank is "not far" from being

confident inflation is declining toward the 2% target, which

would make rate cuts possible.

His comments reinforced investor hopes for a first rate cut

in June and boosted equity indexes that had faltered in the days

leading up to his Congressional testimonies, which kicked off on

Wednesday with an appearance before the U.S. House Financial

Services Committee.

Also the number of Americans filing new claims for

unemployment benefits was unchanged as the labor market

continued to ease, Labor Department data showed.

This followed private payrolls, job openings, quit rate and

unemployment claims data that gave investors a picture of a jobs

market that was softening but still solid.

Powell "essentially left rate cuts on the table for this

year. That's what markets wanted to hear," said Anthony

Saglimbene, Chief Market Strategist, Ameriprise Financial.

"The market's also responding well to the employment data

we've had so far this week," he said. "It adds to the narrative

that we're starting to see employment slow but still solid."

But Saglimbene noted investors will still anxiously monitor

the nonfarm payrolls report on Friday for further details on the

labor market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 130.30 points,

or 0.34%, to 38,791.35, the S&P 500 gained 52.60 points,

or 1.03%, to 5,157.36.

The Nasdaq Composite hit an intraday record high

and narrowly missed a closing record to end up 241.83 points, or

1.51%, at 16,273.38.

"Everybody is waiting for something bad to happen but

nothing bad has happened to the economy, markets, earnings and

policy," said John Augustine, chief investment officer at

Huntington Private Bank. "That's why we're building momentum."

Nine the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, with communications

services and information technology stocks

jostling for position as the biggest gainer. Technology had the

final say, ending up 1.89% followed by communications services

with a 1.84% gain.

Megacap growth stocks were major contributors to index

gains including social media company Meta, which added

3.2%, and AI chip darling Nvidia ( NVDA ), which ended up 4.5%.

Shares in lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret & Co

fell sharply on a weak annual forecast, finishing down 29.7%.

Kroger Co ( KR ) shares rallied 9.8% after the grocer

forecast annual sales and profit above Wall Street estimates as

it bet on higher demand for groceries at its stores, tighter

cost control and strength in its private-label brands.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.09-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE where there were 736 new highs and 47 new lows.

On the Nasdaq 2,592 stocks rose and 1,670 fell as

advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about a 1.55-to-1

ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 82 new 52-week highs and one new low

while the Nasdaq recorded 331 new highs and 88 new lows.

On U.S. exchanges 11.19 billion shares changed hands

compared with the 12.06 billion moving average for the last 20

sessions.