(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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Indexes up: Dow 0.66%, S&P 0.86% and Nasdaq 1.07%

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Chip and AI stocks gain on Nvidia ( NVDA ) results

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September NFP at +119,000 vs +50,000 estimate

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Walmart ( WMT ) up after raising annual forecast

(Updates with afternoon trading levels)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Twesha Dikshit

Nov 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes rose on

Thursday but were off session highs after technology stocks lost

some of their Nvidia ( NVDA )-driven momentum, as uncertainty around the

U.S. monetary policy path weighed on investor sentiment.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) gained 1.9% after the world's most valuable

company forecast sales above analysts' estimates for the final

three months of the year and surpassed expectations for

third-quarter revenue.

"This situation is fine for now, but what happens in three

months' time when the market waits with bated breath for

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) next quarterly earnings update? Even though Nvidia's ( NVDA )

profits and cash flow remain as healthy as an ultramarathon

runner, there are some red flags to consider," said Dan

Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

CEO Jensen Huang shrugged off concerns about AI on a call

with analysts, saying, "We see something very different."

A year-long rally in high-flying technology stocks had begun

to lose some steam as investors became increasingly cautious of

a potential AI bubble.

Concerns about monetization prospects over the technology,

circular spending within the sector and debt issuance have

weighed on markets with the Nasdaq sharply off its

October high and Nvidia ( NVDA ) down nearly 9% from its peak.

At 11:26 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 302.34 points, or 0.66%, to 46,441.56, the S&P 500

gained 57.17 points, or 0.86%, to 6,699.33, and the Nasdaq

Composite gained 241.88 points, or 1.07%, to 22,806.11.

Most megacap and growth stocks advanced, with Tesla

leading gains. The S&P 500 growth index rose 1.1%,

outpacing its value counterpart.

All 11 S&P sub-sectors were trading higher, with technology

in the lead. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index

added 0.9%, with Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ), Broadcom ( AVGO )

and other chip-related stocks jumping.

Walmart ( WMT ) advanced 6.7% after the retailer raised its

annual forecast for the second time this year and also set a

December date to change its stock listing to the Nasdaq from the

NYSE.

Meanwhile, data showed U.S. job growth accelerated in

September, but the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, suggesting

labor market conditions remained sluggish.

"The December FOMC meeting is shaping up as a showdown

between hawks focused on inflation risks and doves focused on

labor market softness," said Jason Pride, chief of investment

strategy and research at Glenmede.

"Today's report likely doesn't halt the rate-cut cycle, but

it does reduce the urgency of the next move."

Traders continued to bet the Federal Reserve will skip an

interest rate cut in December, though there was a small

pull-back after the release of the jobs data.

Thursday's report marks the last jobs report before the

Fed's December meeting, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

set to skip its October report and instead combine nonfarm

payrolls for that month with November's report.

The weekly jobless claims data showed the number of

Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell

last week.

Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) dropped 4.4% as the

cybersecurity firm said it would buy cloud management and

monitoring company Chronosphere for $3.35 billion.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.42-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE by a 2.2-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and four new lows

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 66 new highs and 109 new

lows.