July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures moved

higher on Wednesday after cooler-than-expected producer prices

data for June reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve

could cut interest rates later this year.

Data from the Labor Department showed the Producer Price

Index rose 2.3% on an annual basis in June, compared with a 2.5%

gain expected by economists polled by Reuters. On a monthly

basis, it was flat compared with an estimated 0.2% rise.

Excluding volatile food and energy components, core PPI

increased 2.6% on an annual basis, compared with an expected

2.7% rise.

At 08:31 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 143 points,

or 0.32%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 8.75 points, or

0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 2.75 points, or

0.01%.