US STOCKS-S&P 500 and Dow gain, airline stocks fly on Delta's forecast

By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma

July 10 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow edged up on Thursday, brushing off President Donald Trump's latest tariff salvo, while airline stocks soared on the wings of Delta's upbeat forecast.

Delta Air Lines DAL.N jumped 12.5% after forecasting third-quarter and full-year profits above Wall Street estimates.

Peers United Airlines UAL.O rose 13.4%, while American Airlines AAL.O gained 12.5%.

The Dow Transportation index .DJT, widely considered an economic barometer, jumped 3%.

"The positive news from Delta Air Lines is a good sign, showing a little bit more strength in the consumer than you'd otherwise expect," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management.

At 11:48 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 .SPX edged up 0.25% and the Dow .DJI climbed 0.54% - just 0.7% shy of its December 4 record high.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC was flat, pressured by a near 1% drop in Meta META.O and a retreat in Nvidia NVDA.O, which cooled off after its historic leap to a $4 trillion valuation just a day earlier.

"Markets are in a wait-and-see mode. They are looking to see what earnings will be like when (the season) kicks off next week," Zaccarelli added.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were trading in the green, with technology .SPLRCT and communication services .SPLRCL being the only drags.

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla TSLA.O, however, jumped 2.6% amid conversations around its next annual shareholder meeting in November.

Trump announced on Wednesday a new 50% tariff on copper to start on August 1 and threatened a 50% tariff on exports to the U.S. from Brazil. He also issued tariff notices to seven minor trading partners.

Yet, several countries are still waiting for official word from the White House, with investors closely monitoring the evolving trade negotiations.

The m inutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting revealed that most officials anticipate rate cuts will be warranted later this year, viewing the inflationary impact of Trump's import tariffs as likely "temporary or modest."

While a July rate cut is off the table, the odds of a September move have climbed to 64%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

It may take until late this year - or even into 2026 - before the true impact of rising import tariffs on inflation comes into focus, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said, highlighting why Fed officials are treading carefully on rate cuts.

Last week's robust labor market report sent Wall Street's major indexes to fresh record highs, signaling a rebound from April's sharp sell-off following "Liberation Day" tariff announcements.

Initial jobless claims for the week of July 5 came in at 227,000, below consensus of 235,000, as per a Reuters poll.

Among other stocks, WK Kellogg KLG.N leapt 30.6% and was on track for its biggest single-day move following reports that Italian candy maker Ferrero was nearing a deal to buy the cereal maker.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.89-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 23 new lows.