(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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CPI, weekly jobless claims data due at 8:30 a.m. ET

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PepsiCo ( PEP ) dips on quarterly revenue miss

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Citigroup ( C/PN ) falls after US regulators slap $136-million fine

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Pfizer ( PFE ) moves ahead with once-daily weight-loss pill,

shares up

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Futures down: Dow 0.13%, S&P 500 0.11%, Nasdaq 0.08%

(Updated at 7:03 a.m. ET/1103 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Ankika Biswas

July 11 (Reuters) -

U.S. index futures slipped on Thursday on expectations that

a key inflation print could shape rate-cuts bets and put Wall

Street's record-breaking run to the test, while Delta Air Lines ( DAL )

slumped after a weak forecast, dragging other airline stocks.

All eyes are now on the Consumer Price Index to see if the

numbers will indicate that inflation is on a downward trend.

Economists polled by Reuters forecast that CPI slowed to 3.1%

annually in June, from 3.3% in May, with core inflation expected

to remain steady at 3.4%.

The S&P 500 notched its sixth consecutive record close

and the Nasdaq its seventh on Wednesday, boosted by megacap and

semiconductor stocks. Federal Reserve

Chair Jerome Powell lifted expectations for policy easing in

September, but reiterated that such a decision would depend on

data.

"Inflation in May surprised on the downside, we expect

today's numbers to pull in the lower direction, thereby

supporting our forecast of two Fed cuts in the second half of

the year," analysts at SEB Research said in a note.

"Powell said he wanted to see 'more good numbers' before it

is possible to cut interest rates. Hopefully, he will get some

of them today."

Among headlining stocks, Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) slumped

9.7% in premarket trading after forecasting lower-than-expected

profits in the current quarter, with the carrier citing

discounting pressure on the lower end of the market.

United Airlines Holdings ( UAL ), American Airlines

Group ( AAL ), Spirit Airlines ( SAVE ), Alaska Air Group ( ALK )

and JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) all lost between 2.1% and

4%.

In mixed range-bound trading for megacaps, AI-chip favorite

Nvidia ( NVDA ) edged up 0.6% after closing at a three-week high

on Wednesday.

Investors will monitor weekly jobless claims data later in

the day, along with the Producer Price Inflation report on

Friday for clues on the U.S. monetary policy outlook.

Traders are pricing in a 68% chance of a 25-basis-point rate

cut by September. That probability has hovered around 70% for

the past week, but is up significantly from under 50% a month

ago, according to CME's FedWatch.

Hopes for interest rates to be lowered, continued economic

resilience and exuberance around artificial intelligence-linked

stocks has kept Wall Street's main indexes at or near record

highs this year.

Another key test for the rally is the second-quarter

corporate earnings season, with all eyes on big banks, which are

scheduled to report on Friday.

At 7:03 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 54 points,

or 0.13%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 6.25 points, or

0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 17.75 points, or

0.08%.

Other single movers included PepsiCo ( PEP ), which shed

2% after the soda and snacks maker missed expectations for

second-quarter revenue.

Citigroup ( C/PN ) slipped 1.3% after U.S. bank regulators

fined the lender $136 million for making "insufficient progress"

in fixing the data management issues identified in 2020.

Pfizer ( PFE ) rose 3.6% following the drugmaker's plans

to conduct studies in the second half of 2024 on a reworked,

once-a-day version of its experimental obesity pill,

danuglipron.

Alcoa ( AA ) rose 2.4% after the aluminum producer's

preliminary second-quarter results beat estimates.