Updates prices to mid-afternoon

By Sinéad Carew and Johann M Cherian

Jan 23 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 rose to a record level on Thursday, as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings and digested comments from President Donald Trump, including a call for cuts in interest rates and oil prices.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump demanded that OPEC lower oil prices and that central banks reduce interest rates, while he warned global business leaders they will face tariffs for products made anywhere but in the U.S.

Uncertainty about tariffs has dominated the market's mood as the president said earlier this week that tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, China and the European Union could begin on Feb. 1. Analysts, however, widely expect April 1 to be when major plans will be unveiled.

Investors are concerned tariffs could add to inflation pressures and slow the Federal Reserve's pace of monetary policy easing. Traders expect the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged for the first half of 2025, according to data compiled by LSEG.

But while investors are cautious about tariffs they "like the idea of interest rates coming down, of oil prices coming down," said Lindsey Bell, chief strategist at 248 Ventures in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"All in all, the market is optimistic the more they hear about Trump policies. We're just seeing a reflection of that optimism," said Bell.

TECH STOCKS RETREAT

Technology stocks .SPLRCT took a step back after rallying sharply on Wednesday following Trump's announcement of a private-sector $500-billion investment in AI infrastructure.

Power utility stocks advanced rapidly after Trump told the World Economic Forum that the United States needs double the energy it has to power rapidly emerging AI operations.

At 2:20 p.m. EST (1920) the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 310.11 points, or 0.70%, to 44,466.84, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 8.16 points, or 0.13%, to 6,094.53 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 63.96 points, or 0.32%, to 19,945.38.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, with healthcare .SPXHC up about 1% and leading gains. Industrials .SPLRCI> edged up 0.96% while utilities .SPLRCU rose 0.9%. The S&P 500 banks index .SPXBK was up 0.6% and touched a record high.

Tech was the biggest percentage loser, shedding 0.4%.

Following strong gains in the previous session, tech heavyweights Nvidia NVDA.O and Microsoft MSFT.O each fell about 0.5%.

On the economic data front, a Labor Department report showed weekly jobless claims stood at 223,000, compared with expectations of 220,000.

In earnings, GE Aerospace GE.N advanced 6.5% after it forecast 2025 profit above estimates, while American Airlines AAL.O lost 8.3% after forecasting 2025 profit below expectations.

Shares in health insurer Elevance ELV.N rose 3.1% after beating estimates for fourth-quarter profit.

Electronic Arts EA.O shares sank 17% after the video game publisher cut its forecast for annual bookings.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.22-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, where there were 164 new highs and 48 new lows.

On the Nasdaq, 2,195 stocks rose and 2,103 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.04-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and six new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 63 new highs and 105 new lows.

(Reporting by Sinéad Carew, Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel, Shounak Dasgupta and Rod Nickel)

((sinead.carew@thomsonreuters.com; +13322191897; johann.mcherian@thomsonreuters.com))