US STOCKS-Transports, tech lead Wall Street higher

* Airlines eye profitability measures, shares rise

* Cisco Systems introduces faster router

* Dow up 0.2 pct, S&P up 0.3 pct, Nasdaq up 0.5 pct

* For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US] (Recasts, changes byline)

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on weak volume on Tuesday as a steady drumbeat of corparate news lifted specific stocks on the anniversary of the market hitting 12-year closing lows.

Airline stocks jumped as major U.S. carriers said they would continue to explore new fees and cost-cutting measures to enhance profitability, and demand for business travel picked up. For details see [ID:nN09234122].

AMR Corp <AMR.N>, parent of American Airlines, rose 10.9 percent to $9.91, and UAL Corp <UAUA.O>, parent of United, gained nearly 8 percent to $18.90. The Arca Airline index <.XAL> jumped 4.6 percent to its highest in more than two years.

"The market is focusing on company-specific news because the macro (issues) like health and financial reform seem too far ahead," said Kim Caughey, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

"You look back one year and you're happier in the market. There's a lack of sellers out there."

One year ago, stocks fell to their lowest in more than 12 years amid the economic crisis. The S&P 500 is up 69 percent since then, the strongest one-year rally since 1936, but still 27 percent below its all-time high. For a fact box on the anniversary, see [ID:nN09234832]

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 23.65 points, or 0.22 percent, to 10,576.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 3.03 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,141.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 10.91 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,343.12.

Shares of telecommunications and Internet devices companies rose after Cisco Systems Inc <CSCO.O> unveiled a higher capacity router, which it said can handle 12 times the Internet traffic of the nearest competing product. [ID:nN09226241]

Cisco, whose shares rose almost 4 percent Monday before the announcement, was up 0.2 percent at $26.19, while the S&P telecommunications index <.GSPL> gained 1.6 percent. Apple Inc shares rose 2.4 percent to $224.27.

Railroads also helped lift transports' shares after Morgan Stanley reiterated its upbeat view on railroads while lifting its price target on Union Pacific Corp <UNP.N> and CSX Corp <CSX.N>.

Union Pacific rose 2.6 percent to $71.26 and CSX added 1.5 percent to $49.77, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average <.DJT> gained 1.7 percent, after earlier reaching a 17-month high.

The KBW bank index <.BKX> rose 1.1 percent with top gains coming from Capital One Financial <COF.N>, up 2.6 percent at $38.84. Citigroup Inc <C.N> shot up 7.3 percent to $3.83, after earlier rising 8 percent, the largest daily percentage gain since last August.

Bank shares also got a lift from a Wall Street Journal report that British bank Barclays Plc <BARC.L> is looking to buy a retail bank in the United States. [ID:nN09151429]

Kroger Co <KR.N> fell 2.4 percent to $22.35 after the biggest U.S. grocery chain said fiscal-year earnings could miss expectations as it posted higher-than-expected quarterly profit. [ID:nN09223537]

Also lower was Texas Instruments Inc <TXN.N>, which said late Monday it was struggling to fill orders due to increased demand for chips, but raised its forecasts. The stock fell 1.3 percent to $24.36. [ID:nN08195713]

The U.S. economy is slowly recovering from the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, with the latest data showing the economy may be on the verge of creating jobs and the majority of companies reporting stronger-than-expected earnings. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)