*

Walmart ( WMT ) rises on annual forecast raise

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Deere falls on annual forecast cut

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US weekly jobless claims fall

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Indexes mixed: Dow up 0.02%, S&P down 0.04%, Nasdaq down

0.10%

(Updates to 2:23 PM ET)

By Chibuike Oguh and Bansari Mayur Kamdar

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - The Dow reached an

all-time high of 40,000 for the first time on Thursday, as

investor hopes of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve were

buoyed by data showing inflation slowdown, as well as strong

corporate earnings results.

The blue-chip index has recovered nearly 40% from its

October 2022 lows, powered by resilient U.S. economic growth

despite steep rate hikes by the Fed.

Benchmark S&P 500 and Nasdaq were little changed,

with the biggest gainers in consumer staples,

utilities, real estate, and financials

. Stocks in materials and consumer

discretionary were the biggest drag.

"The current environment seems to focused on what the Fed

may or may not do, given that we had started the year with the

expectation that the Fed will cut rates up to six times but that

moved down more recently to one or two times," said Silas Myers,

chief executive and portfolio manager at Mar Vista Investment

Partners in Los Angeles.

Investors are betting on two quarter-point interest rate

cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, and estimate a 70%

chance of the first reduction in September, according to the CME

FedWatch Tool.

All three Wall Street indexes had reached record closes on

Wednesday after data showed a smaller-than-expected rise in

consumer prices in April, indicating that inflation had resumed

its downward trend.

Data on Thursday also showed the number of Americans filing

new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, though labor

market conditions remain fairly tight even as job growth is

cooling.

"The more information you get out there shows there's

slowing inflation and yet employment is holding up, this has

really put a floor or even ignited this rally that we've seen in

the past couple of days," Myers added.

At 02:23 p.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

6.37 points, or 0.02%, to 39,914.37, the S&P 500 lost

2.08 points, or 0.04%, to 5,306.07 and the Nasdaq Composite

lost 17.47 points, or 0.10%, to 16,724.92.

Walmart ( WMT ) rose 7% after the retail giant raised its

fiscal 2025 sales and profit forecast, betting on easing

inflation to further boost demand for essentials.

Deere fell 4% after the farm equipment maker trimmed

its annual profit forecast for the second time.

U.S.-listed shares of Swiss insurer Chubb added 4%

after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) revealed a

$6.7 billion stake in the company.

GameStop ( GME ) and AMC Entertainment ( AMC ) slid 22% and

12%, respectively. The so-called "meme stocks" were set to

extend Wednesday's losses following a two-day rally sparked by

the social media return of "Roaring Kitty" Keith Gill.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.21-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 1,904 stocks rose and 2,221 fell as

declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.17-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 61 new 52-week highs and one new low while

the Nasdaq recorded 167 new highs and 48 new lows.