US STOCKS-Rate-cut euphoria elevates S&P 500 to record high

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* Stocks pare gains on Trump's Iran comment
* Energy up most among S&P 500 sectors
* Carnival Corp slides on 2019 profit warning
* Indexes: Dow +0.78%, S&P 500 +0.76%, Nasdaq +0.60%

(Updates to afternoon)
By Noel Randewich
June 20 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index touched a record high
on Thursday, driven Wall Street's expectations that the Federal
Reserve will cut interest rates as soon as next month to keep
the U.S.-China trade war from stalling economic growth.
The U.S. central bank left rates unchanged at the end of its
two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, but pledged to "act as
appropriate" to sustain economic health. Wall Street's main indexes have gained in recent weeks on
expectations of a rate cut and hopes of a revival of trade talks
between the United States and China at the Group of 20 meeting
next week in Japan.
The benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX , which has risen about 7%
so far in June, hit an intraday record high of 2,956.20 on
Thursday.
"It was always going to be difficult for the Fed to live up
to high market expectations. While the bar was set high,
policymakers appear to have cleared it with ease while also
leaving themselves with plenty of outs," said Craig Erlam,
senior market analyst at OANDA in London.
A more-than-expected dovish Fed led to U.S. Treasury bond
yields tumbling, with the benchmark 10-year yields US10YT=RR
dropping below 2% for the first time in more than 2-1/2 years.
The energy index .SPNY jumped 1.92%, the most among the 11
major S&P sectors, as oil prices surged over 5% on renewed
tensions in the Middle East after Iran shot down a U.S. military
drone. "This new high on the S&P 500 could be fool's gold," warned
Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset
Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. "We have this simmering tension
in Iran that could spill over and create all kinds of global
fears."
At 2:41 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 0.78% at 26,710.42 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained
0.76% to 2,948.59.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 0.6% to 8,035.07.
Apple AAPL.O rose 0.7% and briefly hit $200 for the first
time since early May. The iPhone maker is viewed as a major
potential casualty in Trump's trade war, should it worsen.
The technology sector .SPLRCT rose 1.13%, boosting the S&P
500 by the most, with Oracle Corp ORCL.N leading the charge.
Oracle's shares jumped 8.1% after the business software
maker forecast current-quarter profit above estimates. Its gain
fueled the S&P 500 more than any other stock. Cruise operator Carnival Corp CCL.N slid 8.2%, the most
among S&P companies, after cutting its profit forecast for the
year on the Trump administration's sudden ban on cruises to Cuba
and weakening demand in Europe over political uncertainty.
Rivals Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd RCL.N and Norwegian
Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N dropped about 3% each.
Buoying sentiment was data which showed the number of
Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell
more than expected last week, pointing to underlying labor
market strength despite a sharp slowdown in job growth in May.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
3.15-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.52-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 97 new 52-week highs and 3 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 119 new highs and 40 new lows.