RPT-US STOCKS-Nvidia, Microsoft power S&P 500's advance

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* Private payrolls increase by 428,000 in August
* Nvidia climbs as analysts cheer new gaming chip
* Macy's gains on smaller-than-expected quarterly loss
* Indexes: Dow up 0.63%, S&P up 0.53%, Nasdaq dips 0.29%

By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Sept 2 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday for the
ninth time in the past ten sessions on a boost from Nvidia and
Microsoft, as data showed a moderate increase in U.S. private
payrolls last month.
The best-performing S&P 500 constituent Nvidia Corp NVDA.O
gained 2.7% after several brokerages hiked their price targets
on its shares following the announcement of powerful gaming
chips in collaboration with Micron Technology Inc MU.O and
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930.KS .
The Philadelphia SE chip index .SOX rose 1.6%.
U.S. private employers hired 428,000 workers in August,
according to an ADP report, far below economists' forecast of a
950,000 increase, signaling the labor market recovery was
slowing as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and fiscal stimulus
fades. Focus will now be on the government's comprehensive
employment report, which is slated for Friday.
"It's amazing how good our economy is doing given how we are
partially shut down," said Kevin Miller, chief investment
officer of Minnesota-based E-Valuator Funds.
"The only thing that's going to happen going forward is we
will continually open up more and people go back to work and
more money gets reinvested back into this economy."
The U.S. Federal Reserve's move to revamp its policy
framework to support maximum employment has fueled a Wall Street
rally, and sent the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record highs.
The Dow is just about 2% below its all-time high on Feb. 12.
The healthcare .SPXHC and financial .SPSY sectors, which
have lagged the broader market this year, provided the biggest
boost to the S&P 500.
At 11:28 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 179.09 points, or 0.63%, at 28,824.75, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 18.52 points, or 0.53%, at 3,545.17. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was down 34.08 points, or 0.29%, at 11,905.59.
Market experts have warned that at these elevated levels,
Wall Street's indexes are ripe for a pullback, especially in the
weeks leading up to the U.S. presidential election in November.
President Donald Trump has overtaken Democratic rival Joe
Biden to stand as the favorite to win the election on
Europe-based betting exchange Betfair, while in a Reuters/Ipsos
national opinion poll on Wednesday, 40% of registered voters
supported Trump, compared with 47% who said they will vote for
Biden. High-flying shares of Apple Inc AAPL.O , Tesla Inc TSLA.O
and Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM.O dropped between 3.5%
and 10.0%, curbing the tech-heavy Nasdaq's advance.
Macy's Inc M.N added 1.9% after it reported a
smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, as shoppers stuck indoors
due to the COVID-19 pandemic bought more apparel using the
department store chain's app and website. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.25-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and matched them on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 64 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 116 new highs and 33 new lows.