US STOCKS-Tech stocks power Wall Street's gains amid hopes of tariff exemption

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

Aug 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes advanced on Thursday, lifted by hopes that technology giants might dodge President Donald Trump's newest tariffs on chip imports.

Apple's AAPL.O shares climbed 2.4%, having risen 5.1% and led gains on Wall Street in the prior session, after Trump said the iPhone maker will invest an additional $100 billion in the U.S., bringing its total commitment to $600 billion over the next four years.

Trump also announced a tariff of about 100% on imports of semiconductors but said it would not apply to companies that are manufacturing in the U.S. or have committed to do so.

Shares of chipmakers Nvidia NVDA.O and Broadcom AVGO.O rose 1.3% each, while peer Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O advanced 3%.

The tech sector .SPLRCT emerged as the top performer, gaining 1.1%, while the healthcare sector .SPXHC fell to the bottom.

Eli Lilly LLY.N dropped 11.2% after reporting data on its late-stage oral weight-loss drug. The drugmaker also raised its full-year profit forecast.

At 9:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 263.08 points, or 0.60%, to 44,456.20, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 37.82 points, or 0.60%, to 6,382.88 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 177.85 points, or 0.84%, to 21,347.27.

Trump's higher tariffs of 10% to 50% on dozens of trading partners took effect on Thursday.

Fresh signs of a faltering labor market - especially after a disappointing July payrolls report - have fueled speculation that the Federal Reserve could soon kick off a rate-cutting cycle.

Underscoring the jitters, new data showed jobless claims came in at 226,000 for the week of Aug. 2, surpassing economists' expectations of 221,000.

"It's certainly validating the increase in jobless claims we've been seeing, which also jives with the weakness we saw in the employment report," said Ben Laidler, head of equity strategy at Bradesco BBI.

"The narrative is clear, the economy is slowing. It may not be headed towards recession, but it's definitely slowing."

Traders are now betting almost fully on a September rate cut, with at least two moves expected this year, CME Group's FedWatch tool showed.

Investors are also watching for Trump's interim replacement for Fed Governor Adriana Kugler in the coming days, amid expectations that the nominee would be a policy dove who will likely favor bringing interest rates lower.

Kugler's resignation leaves an opening at the seven-member Fed Board led by Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump has repeatedly criticized for not cutting borrowing costs. Powell's tenure is due to end in May.

Meanwhile, chipmaker Intel INTC.O lost 0.7% after Trump called for its chief executive's resignation , saying, "the Intel CEO is highly conflicted and should resign immediately."

Second-quarter earnings barrage continued at full throttle. DoorDash DASH.O topped revenue estimates and forecast a stronger-than-expected gross merchandise value for the current quarter. Its shares jumped 4.9%.

Datadog DDOG.O gained 6.2% after beating estimates for second-quarter results.

Airbnb ABNB.O slumped 8.4% after the company forecast slower growth for the second half of the year.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 4.32-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.32-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 17 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 41 new highs and 28 new lows.