US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq hit record highs as U.S.-Iran escalation fears fade

* Iran fires rockets at Iraqi bases hosting U.S. forces
* Trump says no casualties in Iran attacks
* Walgreens Boots slides on quarterly profit miss
* Indexes up: Dow 0.72%, S&P 0.68%, Nasdaq 0.71%

(Changes comment, adds details, updates prices)
By Sruthi Shankar and Susan Mathew
Jan 8 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record
highs on Wednesday after President Donald Trump said there were
no American casualties in the Iranian missile strikes and that
Tehran appeared to be standing down, sparking a relief rally in
markets.
Iranian forces fired missiles overnight at military bases
housing U.S. troops in Iraq, in response to the U.S. killing of
Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, a move that initially sent
shivers across global markets and drove U.S. stock futures down
over 1%. However, comments from Iranian foreign minister that the
country did not seek an escalation and Trump's tweet that "All
is well!" kept markets in the positive territory.
"The fact that we have this great military and equipment,
however, does not mean we have to use it," Trump said at a White
House briefing later in the day. "The de-escalation nature of the speech is really what the
market is focused on," said Michael Antonelli, market strategist
at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee.
"It's Trump essentially saying that we're not going to
retaliate to the missile attacks last night."
Trump's latest comments sent the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to
all-time highs, previously hit on the first trading day of 2020
on hopes of a U.S.-China trade deal.
At 12:01 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
was up 204.40 points, or 0.72%, at 28,788.08, the S&P 500 .SPX
was up 22.02 points, or 0.68%, at 3,259.20 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was up 64.35 points, or 0.71%, at 9,132.94.
The blue-chip Dow was trading just below its all-time high
as Boeing Co BA.N fell 1.2% after its 737-800 jet belonging to
a Ukrainian airline burst into flames shortly after take-off
from Tehran, killing all 176 people aboard. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O slid 6.2% as its
quarterly profit missed expectations. Shares in rival CVS Health
CVS.N fell 1.8%. Lennar Corp LEN.N gained 2.4% after the No. 2 U.S.
homebuilder beat quarterly profit estimates on the back of 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 decliners for a 1.81-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.64-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 54 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 85 new highs and 9 new lows.