Updates with afternoon trading, adds analyst comment and market details

By Noel Randewich and Ragini Mathur

July 10 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 climbed toward a record high on Friday, as a blockbuster Nasdaq debut of South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix fueled optimism about semiconductor stocks, while investors looked ahead to quarterly earnings season kicking off next week.

The artificial intelligence trade returned to the spotlight after SK Hynix 000660.KS, SKHYV.O opened 14% above its offering price at $170 in a high-profile U.S. listing. The memory-chip maker raised about $26.5 billion on Thursday by selling American Depositary Receipts priced at $149 each.

U.S. stocks added to gains after U.S. President Donald Trump said that Iran had asked to continue talks and the U.S. had agreed, but that the June ceasefire was "over."

Attacks between the U.S. and Iran this week revived concerns that high energy prices could fuel more inflation and force the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates.

Reports from big U.S. banks will kick off the second-quarter earnings season next week. Analysts are expecting S&P 500 earnings to surge 24% from a year earlier, with technology companies driving much of the growth, according to LSEG I/B/E/S.

"This is a high-bar quarter with a narrow margin of error," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis, Minnesota. "The banks will give us a good read on the underlying economic strength and what consumers and businesses are doing."

Thanks to increased corporate profit estimates, the S&P 500 is trading at about 20 times expected earnings, down from an earnings multiple of 21 in late May, even though the benchmark is trading near record highs.

Chipmakers have been among the biggest beneficiaries of this year's AI-driven rally, fueled by expectations of heavy spending by hyperscalers. But concerns over stretched valuations and profit taking have recently injected volatility into the sector.

The PHLX chip index .SOX gained 0.5%, and it remained down about 11% from its record high close on June 22.

The S&P 500 was up 0.32% at 7,567.48 points, down less than 1% from its June 2 record high close.

The Nasdaq gained 0.23% to 26,265.80 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.31% at 52,649.55 points.

Meta Platforms META.O jumped 5.7% to its highest level since April.

Moderna MRNA.O tumbled almost 11% and was on pace for its worst day in over a year.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by information technology .SPLRCT, up 1.65%, followed by a 1.46% gain in consumer discretionary .SPLRCD.

Next week's June inflation data will offer fresh insight into the Fed's likely monetary policy path, while Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is also scheduled to testify before the House Committee on Financial Services.

Delta Air Lines DAL.N dropped 1.3%, even after forecasting third-quarter profit above expectations.

Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 .AD.SPX by a 1.9-to-one ratio.