US STOCKS-S&P 500 hits record high, chip stocks extend rally

Wall Street's main indexes climbed on Thursday, with the Nasdaq leading the charge supported by chipmakers, while the benchmark S&P 500 hit an intraday record high as investors remained upbeat about the prospects of the Fed's interest rate cut in June. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index hit a fresh record high and was last up 3.2%, with Qualcomm leading chipmakers' rally. Nine the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose, with rate-sensitive information technology stocks up 1.5% and in the lead.