Indexes up: Dow 0.72%, S&amp;P 500 0.75%, Nasdaq 0.91%Tesla up on robotaxi launch in TexasUS business activity moderates; price pressures building up(Updates to afternoon)By Stephen CulpNEW YORK, June 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street gained ground on Monday as the prospect of the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting interest rates as early as July offset fears that Iran would retaliate against U.S. airstrikes and further escalate the war in the Middle East.A broad rally pushed all three major U.S. stock indexes modestly higher. Consumer discretionary stocks (.SPLRCD) led the gainers, with a solid boost from Tesla (TSLA.O) .“The rally is a bit surprising,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio manager at InfraCap in New York. “In a way the U.S. attack puts an end to the uncertainty of whether the U.S. is going to attack.”“The market action is extremely bullish because this is the time frame in June when we’re supposed to have a pullback,” Hatfield added. “People do not want to sell in this market.”Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman said on Monday that “it is time to consider adjusting the policy rate,” as risks to the job market outweigh inflationary concerns related to tariffs. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago president Austan Goolsbee said that thus far, tariffs have had a more modest economic impact than expected.Financial markets are pricing in at least two 25-basis-point rate cuts before year-end. The first cut is widely expected to happen in September.Tesla (TSLA.O) shares surged after the long-awaited launch of the company’s robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. The electric vehicle maker’s shares were last up 9.4%.Israel continued to bombard Iran the day after the U.S. joined the war.Still,oil prices (CLc1) tumbled after Iran’s retaliation did not include action to disrupt oil and gas tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran had warned it would close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route.On the economics front, S&amp;P Global’s advance “flash” purchasing managers’ indexes (PMI) showed the U.S. economy is expanding at a slightly more robust pace than analysts anticipated. A separate report showed new home sales, while under pressure from elevated borrowing costs, posted an unexpected gain in May.Later in the week, the Commerce Department’s final take on first-quarter GDP and its Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s congressional testimony are likely to be parsed for clues regarding the near-term path of monetary policy.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 305.71 points, or 0.72%, to 42,512.53, the S&amp;P 500 (.SPX) gained 44.70 points, or 0.75%, to 6,012.54 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 177.08 points, or 0.91%, to 19,624.49.Among the 11 major sectors of the S&amp;P 500, consumer discretionary stocks led the gainers, while energy (.SPNY) was the only sector in negative territory.Among other movers, drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY.N) rose 0.9% after detailed trial data on rival Novo Nordisk’s (NOVOb.CO) experimental obesity drug CagriSema failed to impress investors. Novo Nordisk’s shares dipped 5.3%.Fiserv’s (FI.N) shares rose nearly 3.3% following its announcement that it would launch a new digital asset platform.Northern Trust (NTRS.O) jumped 7.2% after a Wall Street Journal report said Bank of New York Mellon (BK.N) broached the topic of a potential merger.AI-server-maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI.O) dropped 6.8% after it announced a private offering of $2 billion five-year convertible bonds.Quarterly results from sportswear company Nike (NKE.N) and package delivery firm FedEx (FDX.N) are expected later in the week.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.67-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 100 new highs and 66 new lows on the NYSE.On the Nasdaq, 2,389 stocks rose and 2,026 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.18-to-1 ratio. The S&amp;P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 77 new highs and 105 new lows.Flash PMI<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-STOCKS/lbvgzredapq/flashpmi.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" width="599" height="376" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-STOCKS/lbvgzredapq/flashpmi.png"/>

TSLA

Wall Street rallied on June 23, with the Dow up 0.72%, S&P 500 up 0.75%, and Nasdaq up 0.91%, driven by hopes of U.S. interest rate cuts amid Middle East tensions. Tesla shares surged 9.4% following the launch of its robotaxi service in Texas. Federal Reserve officials indicated a potential rate cut as early as September, with financial markets anticipating two cuts by year-end. Economic indicators showed stronger-than-expected growth, while oil prices fell despite ongoing geopolitical concerns.

- Wall Street experienced gains with the Dow up 0.72%, S&P 500 up 0.75%, and Nasdaq up 0.91%, driven by expectations of potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.  
- Tesla's shares surged 9.4% following the launch of its robotaxi service in Texas, while consumer discretionary stocks led the market rally.  
- Economic indicators showed a stronger-than-expected expansion in U.S. business activity, with upcoming reports on GDP and inflation likely to influence future monetary policy.

US STOCKS-Wall St rallies as rate cut hopes outweigh Middle East turmoil