US STOCKS-Tech stocks power S&P 500 for seventh session in a row

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* Workday surges after lifting annual subscription forecast
* Dell rises as quarterly profit tops estimates
* Coca-Cola rises after announcing restructuring, job cuts
* Indexes up: Dow 0.44%, S&P 0.31%, Nasdaq 0.38%

(Updates to early afternoon)
By Medha Singh and Devik Jain
Aug 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 rallied for the seventh
straight session on Friday, powered by tech stocks, prospects of
super-low interest rates for a prolonged period and hopes of a
medical solution to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tech sector's .SPLRCT 0.6% rise provided the biggest
boost to the benchmark index. Energy stocks .SPNY advanced
1.1% as Hurricane Laura passed the heart of the U.S. oil
industry in Louisiana and Texas without causing any widespread
damage to refineries. "Technology has kind of become the recession play. With
everybody piling in into it, the momentum is certainly on
technology's side," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at
Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago.
"Equity markets are in kind of a risk on trade. It's a
recognition that the Fed is probably not going to be touching
interest rates for quite some time."
Data on Friday showed U.S. consumer spending increased more
than expected in July, though momentum is likely to ebb as the
pandemic lingers and fiscal stimulus dries up. The core PCE index, the Federal Reserve's preferred
inflation measure, increased 1.3% in the 12 months through July,
closer to the central bank's 2% target which is now a flexible
average.
The Fed on Thursday unveiled a plan to support inflation and
restore the U.S. economy from its biggest downturn since the
Great Depression, helping the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq scale
record highs.
The benchmark index is on track for its best August in 34
years, partly powered by a rally in technology stocks, while the
blue-chip Dow traded above its break-even level for 2020.
Progress in the race to develop treatments and vaccines for
COVID-19 have also added to the cheer. Johnson & Johnson's
JNJ.N Janssen unit said it would expand testing for its
experimental coronavirus vaccine to Spain, the Netherlands and
Germany next week. Meanwhile, the U.S. election campaign entered its final
stretch with U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican nomination
for a second term. Analysts expect market volatility .VIX to
increase again ahead of voting in November.
At 12:45 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 124.21 points, or 0.44%, at 28,616.48, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 10.82 points, or 0.31%, at 3,495.37. The Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 43.94 points, or 0.38%, at 11,669.28.
Coca-Cola Co KO.N gained 2.4% as announced plans to nearly
halve its operating units and offer voluntary separation to
4,000 workers. In the latest sign that technology companies are booming in
the pandemic, business software provider Workday Inc WDAY.O
jumped 12.2% after raising its annual subscription forecast and
Dell Technologies Inc DELL.N gained 5.9% after reporting a
quarterly profit beat. Nutanix Inc NTNX.O jumped 28.1% after its quarterly
results beat and Bain Capital invested about $750 million in the
cloud service provider.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.79-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and by a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 18 new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 63 new highs and 13 new lows.