US STOCKS-S&P 500 hits record high as concerns fade over U.S.-Iran escalation

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* Iran fires rockets overnight at Iraqi bases housing U.S.
forces
* Trump comments fuel rally in risk assets
* Walgreens Boots slides on quarterly profit miss
* Indexes up: Dow 0.9%, S&P 0.9%, Nasdaq 1.0%

(Updates to late afternoon)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks climbed on
Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting record highs,
after President Donald Trump's comments eased fears of an
all-out conflict in the Middle East.
Trump's comments at a White House briefing followed Iran's
missile strikes overnight on military bases housing U.S. troops
in Iraq.
The U.S. president said the strikes had not harmed any
Americans and that Tehran appeared to be standing down.
Comments earlier from Iran's foreign minister that the
country did not seek an escalation and a tweet from Trump that
"All is well!" also helped to calm investor jitters.
Stocks were edging higher before Trump's comments, but he
confirmed the view that the United States was "willing to make
peace with anyone who wants to," said Michael O'Rourke, chief
market strategist at JonesTrading in Stamford, Connecticut.
"His tone was very conciliatory, so I think everyone views
this as a de-escalation, and the S&P pushed to new all-time
highs."
Global markets have been rattled by concerns about rising
tensions in the Middle East after the U.S. killing of
influential Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani on Jan. 3.
The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY was trading more than 1%
lower, while the rest of the S&P sectors were trading higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 261.69 points,
or 0.92%, to 28,845.37, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 27.81 points,
or 0.86%, to 3,264.99 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
93.65 points, or 1.03%, to 9,162.23.
Among the day's decliners, Boeing BA.N fell 1.1% after a
737-800 jet made by the company and belonging to a Ukrainian
airline burst into flames shortly after takeoff from Tehran,
killing all 176 people aboard. Also, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O slid 5.7% as its
quarterly profit missed expectations. Shares in rival CVS Health
CVS.N fell 1.5%. Meanwhile, Lennar Corp LEN.N gained 1.8% after the No. 2
U.S. homebuilder beat quarterly profit estimates on lower home
prices and mortgage rates. Adding to the upbeat mood, the ADP National Employment
Report showed private payrolls jumped by 202,000 jobs last
month, much above the 160,000 rise expected by economists polled
by Reuters. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.77-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.82-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 58 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 106 new highs and nine new lows.