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* Alphabet slips as OpenAI to launch search competitor

* Arm Holdings up on report of AI chips plan

* Indexes up: S&P 500 0.06%, Nasdaq 0.08%, Dow 0.17%

May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes edged higher on Monday, nearing record peaks following a recent run of gains, with investors awaiting key inflation figures this week to gauge the likelihood of interest rate cuts in 2024.

The indexes were back near all-time highs hit in March, boosted by stronger-than-expected earnings reports and signs of a cooling labor market that have fueled bets of one or two rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve this year.

"Not only is earnings coming better than anticipated, but the outlook has been raised," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC.

"Market likes that but also needs to get some level of comfort that inflation is not going back up and potentially going down to give the Fed cover for at least one or maybe two cuts before the end of the year."

The keenly awaited inflation data on Wednesday is expected to show that core consumer prices rose 0.3% on a month-over-month basis in April, for an annual rise of 3.6%, according to economist forecasts in a Reuters poll.

Investors will also focus on a spate of other economic readings this week, including monthly producer prices, retail sales and weekly jobless claims.

While Fed policymakers have reassured markets the next policy move is not a rate rise, the timing of the first cut remains uncertain. On Monday, Fed Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson said he supports holding steady on interest rates until it's clear that price pressures are moderating.

Traders are currently pricing in rate cuts of 44 bps from the Fed by the end of 2024, according to LSEG's rate probabilities app, with odds for a September cut of at least 25 bps at 66%.

Major companies reporting this week include Home Depot , Walmart, Cisco and Alibaba.

Of the 459 S&P 500 companies that reported through Friday, 77.3% beat analysts' profit estimates, according to LSEG data. The long-term average is 66.7%.

Monday's gains follow the indexes registering a multi-week win streak on Friday.

At 09:40 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 68.08 points, or 0.17%, to 39,580.92, the S&P 500 gained 3.32 points, or 0.06%, to 5,226.28 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 13.76 points, or 0.08%, to 16,354.63.

Alphabet slipped 2.2% as Microsoft-backed OpenAI looked set to announce its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search product on Monday.

The Google parent's drop pulled down communication services stocks by 1.3%, lagging other S&P 500 sectors.

Apple added 1% after a report on Friday said the company had closed in on an agreement with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI to use the startup's technology on the iPhone.

Arm Holdings climbed 5% after Nikkei Asia reported the SoftBank Group-backed chip designer plans to develop AI chips, seeking to launch the first products in 2025.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.86-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.75-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and no new lows while the Nasdaq recorded 84 new highs and 25 new lows.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)