US STOCKS-S&P 500 climbs toward record, marquee reports in focus

* Halliburton rises after Q2 profit beats estimates
* Boeing falls after Fitch revises ratings outlook
* Tech stocks lead major S&P sectors
* Indexes: Dow +0.01%, S&P 500 +0.28%, Nasdaq +0.68%

(Updates to afternoon)
By Noel Randewich
July 22 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 climbed toward a record high
on Monday, supported by expectations of lower interest rates,
while investors awaited quarterly earnings from marquee
companies Facebook, Alphabet and Amazon later this week.
Facebook Inc FB.O rose 1.6% ahead of its report after the
bell on Wednesday, while Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O and
Google-parent Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O were each up about 0.5%
ahead of their reports on Thursday.
Investors' reactions to the reports of those top-tier growth
companies could affect broader market sentiment as the S&P 500
trades about 1% below its July 15 record high close.
"How is that going to affect my other tech holdings and the
market overall? That is more worrying than my actual investment
in Alphabet," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of
Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The technology index .SPLRCT rose 1.2%, the most among the
S&P sectors, while the Philadelphia chip index .SOX surged 2%.
Shares of Boeing Co BA.N fell 1% and pressured the
blue-chip Dow index .DJI after ratings agency Fitch revised
its outlook on the planemaker to "negative" from "stable," while
the tech-heavy Nasdaq was lifted by chipmakers. The European Central Bank meets on Thursday and money
markets are pricing in a more than 50% chance of a 10 basis
point cut in interest rates. Federal Reserve officials are set
to meet a few days later, when they are widely expected to lower
rates by at least 25 basis points.
Hopes of an interest rate cut have helped Wall Street's main
indexes hit record levels this month, recovering from a slump in
May caused by a sudden escalation of U.S.-China trade tensions.
About 30% of S&P 500 companies are set to report
second-quarter results this week, with overall profits now
estimated to rise about 1%, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Chip stocks gained on news that White House economic adviser
Larry Kudlow will host a meeting with executives of
semiconductor and software companies on Monday to discuss a U.S.
ban on sales to China's Huawei Technologies HWT.UL .
At 2:34 pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 0.01% at 27,157.14 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained
0.28% to 2,984.97.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.68% to 8,201.64.
Second-quarter earnings have been mixed so far, with major
banks raising concerns about profit growth in a low interest
rate environment. Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and International
Business Machines IBM.N , on the other hand, have reported
better-than-expected earnings.
Halliburton Co HAL.N surged 8%, the most among S&P 500
companies, after the oilfield services provider's second-quarter
profit beat analysts' estimates. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.03-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.11-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted six new 52-week highs and five new lows;
the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 105 new lows.