Aug 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street advanced on Friday, taking indexes closer to a strong weekly finish, after President Donald Trump's interim pick for a Federal Reserve governor post kept expectations alive for a dovish policy.At 11:29 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), rose 119.33 points, or 0.27%, to 44,087.97, the S&P 500 (.SPX), gained 39.20 points, or 0.62%, to 6,379.20 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), gained 167.47 points, or 0.79%, to 21,410.34.
Trump on Thursday nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Stephen Miran to a short-term board seat following Adriana Kugler's abrupt exit last week, as he narrowed his shortlist to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends on May 15.
Miran, who is often aligned with Trump, has previously implied that Powell was "too late" in lowering rates.
On Thursday, Bloomberg News also reported that Fed Governor Christopher Waller was emerging as a leading contender for the chair post.
Investors remain conflicted about the Fed's leadership overhaul, balancing concerns about the institution's independence against growing anticipation of deeper rate cuts ahead.
"The reality is the president can't force a chair to step down or put any additional pressure to make the governors to force rates lower," said Phil Blancato, CEO, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.
"This is about him putting in folks who are going to be more dovish and ultimately (lead) to deeper rate cuts, whether they're justified or not."
In earnings-related moves, Gilead Sciences (GILD.O), surged 8.6% following its raising of the full-year financial outlook.
Expedia (EXPE.O), jumped 4.4% after raising its annual forecast for gross bookings and revenue growth.
Trade Desk (TTD.O), sank about 40%, the biggest single-day drop on record, as the ad-tech firm reported a sharp slowdown in second-quarter revenue growth.
Pinterest (PINS.N), tumbled 8.7% after the social media platform missed analysts' estimates for second-quarter profit.
Most S&P 500 sectors rose, with a 1.1% jump in communication services (.SPSY), leading the gains on Friday. Consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD), was on track to be the week's top‑performing sector.
Healthcare (.SPXHC), was down 1.2% for the week, dragged primarily by Eli Lilly, whose shares tumbled in the previous session after late-stage study results showed its experimental GLP-1 pill lagged that of Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO).
Meanwhile, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on track for their best week in over a month, while the Dow was set to log adequate gains.
Traders now peg about a 90% chance of the first rate cut hitting next month, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool, with futures pointing to at least two cuts by year-end.
St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem said the central bank must balance risks to its inflation and jobs goals before deciding whether to cut interest rates.
Investors also monitored the seemingly debilitating U.S.-India trade relations as New Delhi shelved fresh U.S. arms and aircraft purchases, according to three Indian officials, after Trump raised tariffs on Indian exports to 50% this week - among the highest of any U.S. trading partner.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.42-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.15-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 21 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 72 new highs and 72 new lows.
Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
