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Indexes up: Dow 0.27%, S&P 500 0.62%, Nasdaq 0.79%

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Pinterest ( PINS ) falls after missing Q2 profit estimates

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Gilead jumps on full-year outlook raise

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Trade Desk ( TTD ) slumps after slower Q2 revenue growth

(Updates with analyst comment, early afternoon prices)

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street advanced on Friday, taking

indexes closer to a strong weekly finish, after President Donald

Trump's interim pick for a Federal Reserve governor post kept

expectations alive for a dovish policy.

At 11:29 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 119.33 points, or 0.27%, to 44,087.97, the S&P 500

gained 39.20 points, or 0.62%, to 6,379.20 and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 167.47 points, or 0.79%, to 21,410.34.

Trump on Thursday nominated Council of Economic Advisers

Chair Stephen Miran to a short-term board seat following Adriana

Kugler's abrupt exit last week, as he narrowed his shortlist to

succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15.

Miran, who is often aligned with Trump, has previously

implied that Powell was "too late" in lowering rates.

On Thursday, Bloomberg News also reported that Fed Governor

Christopher Waller was emerging as a leading contender for the

chair post.

Investors remain conflicted about the Fed's leadership

overhaul, balancing concerns about the institution's

independence against growing anticipation of deeper rate cuts

ahead.

"The reality is the president can't force a chair to

step down or put any additional pressure to make the governors

to force rates lower," said Phil Blancato, CEO, Ladenburg

Thalmann Asset Management.

"This is about him putting in folks who are going to be

more dovish and ultimately (lead) to deeper rate cuts, whether

they're justified or not."

In earnings-related moves, Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) surged

8.6% following its raising of the full-year financial outlook.

Expedia ( EXPE ) jumped 4.4% after

raising

its annual forecast for gross bookings and revenue growth.

Trade Desk ( TTD ) sank about 40%, the biggest single-day

drop on record, as the ad-tech firm reported a sharp slowdown in

second-quarter revenue growth.

Pinterest ( PINS ) tumbled 8.7% after the social media

platform missed analysts' estimates for second-quarter profit.

Most S&P 500 sectors rose, with a 1.1% jump in communication

services leading the gains on Friday. Consumer

discretionary was on track to be the week's

top-performing sector.

Healthcare was down 1.2% for the week, dragged

primarily by Eli Lilly, whose shares tumbled in the previous

session after late-stage study results showed its experimental

GLP-1 pill lagged that of Novo Nordisk's.

Meanwhile, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on track

for their best week in over a month, while the Dow was set to

log adequate gains.

Traders now peg about a 90% chance of the first rate cut

hitting next month, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool, with

futures pointing to at least two cuts by year-end.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said the central

bank must balance risks to its inflation and jobs goals before

deciding whether to cut interest rates.

Investors also monitored the seemingly debilitating

U.S.-India trade relations as New Delhi shelved fresh U.S. arms

and aircraft purchases, according to three Indian officials,

after Trump raised tariffs on Indian exports to 50% this week -

among the highest of any U.S. trading partner.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.42-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 72 new highs and 72 new

lows.