US STOCKS-Wall St edges up on optimism, eyes on Mideast

                                
  
                                
 * CPI, jobless claims rise more than forecast
                                
 * Oil up on Mideast unrest, Iran ships to cross Suez Canal
                                
 * Indexes up: Dow 0.24 pct, S&P 0.27 pct, Nasdaq 0.2 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates to afternoon, changes byline)
                                
 By Rodrigo Campos
                                
 NEW YORK, Feb 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks piled on a
vertiginous two-year advance on Thursday as investors dismissed
a rise in jobless claims and consumer prices to focus on
positive earnings and regional business activity.
                                
 The technology sector showed strength, with Nvidia Corp
<NVDA.O> up 9.4 percent to $25.58 a day after a bullish revenue
forecast. For details see [ID:nN16109370].
                                
 The S&P 500 hit a 32-month high a day after doubling its
value in less than two years, the steepest 100 percent gain
since the Great Depression.
                                
 U.S. crude futures <CLc1> jumped as civilian unrest in some
oil-producing regions kept focus on supply, boosting shares of
energy companies. The S&P energy sector <.GSPE> gained 0.9
percent.
                                
 Stocks continued to overlook Iran's intentions to send two
navy vessels through the Suez Canal in a move that Israel has
called a "provocation" and that is putting Egypt's new military
rulers in an unwelcome diplomatic spotlight. [ID:nLDE71G0CU]
                                
 "Geopolitical issues have been pushed aside, maybe
prematurely," said Brian Lazorishak, a money manager at Chase
Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.
                                
 "People have been focusing on the positives like the
outlook for corporations and a good earnings season," he said.
                                
 Lazorishak added that the uptick in stocks was related more
to a lack of sellers than to enthusiastic buying. Dwindling
volume could be a reflection of that.
                                
 Average daily volume on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE
Amex and Nasdaq has been 7.5 billion shares in February,
sharply below the 8.5 billion shares traded daily on average
over the same month last year.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> added 29.14 points,
or 0.24 percent, at 12,317.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
<.SPX> gained 3.67 points, or 0.27 percent, at 1,339.99. The
Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 5.52 points, or 0.20
percent, at 2,831.08.
                                
 Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc <DPS.N> posted quarterly profit
that beat estimates and gave an upbeat forecast and its shares
jumped 5.6 percent to $36.18.
                                
 Its competitor Coca Cola Co <KO.N> was the top gainer in
the Dow industrials, up 1.7 percent to $64.48. Coke also
announced an increase in its dividend.
                                
 Data storage equipment maker NetApp Inc <NTAP.O> forecast
weaker-than-expected profit, blaming a components shortage. Its
shares fell 7.3 percent to $54.29. [ID:nN16294075]
                                
 Data showed U.S. core consumer prices rose at the quickest
pace in 15 months in January but economists said the turnaround
in prices was unlikely to derail the Federal Reserve's plan to
continue pumping money into the economy. [ID:nN17101585]
                                
 That excess liquidity has been one of the main drivers of
the stocks rally in the past months.
                                
 A separate report showed factory activity in the U.S.
Mid-Atlantic region rose in February to its highest since
January 2004, with an employment subindex reaching its highest
point since April 1973.
 (Editing by James Dalgleish)