At 11:59 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 9.21 points, or 0.02%, to 53,801.06, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.39 points, or 0.19%, to 7,742.59 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 102.48 points, or 0.39%, to 26,547.92.
The gains brought the tech-heavy Nasdaq within 2.2% of a record high. The S&P 500 .SPX and the Dow .DJI have already scaled peaks last week as upbeat earnings lifted sentiment.
Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, briefly touched a seven-month low and was last down 0.49 points at 14.79.
Investors also assessed U.S. consumer prices data, which increased slightly in July, weakening the argument for the central bank to hike interest rates next month.
Traders are now pricing in a 62% chance of the Fed holding rates at its September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Before the data was released, they were split between a hike and no change.
Economic data, especially inflation figures, have drawn increased scrutiny as elevated energy prices due to the Middle East conflict raised rate-hike bets and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh stayed firm on muted forward guidance.
The situation in the Middle East remained volatile as a senior Iranian source said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it, while shipping attacks continued.
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