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S&P 500 notches 35th record closing high this year

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Powell to speak at 10 a.m. ET

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Lilly up after data shows its Mounjaro more efficient than

Wegovy

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Futures: Dow down 0.01%, S&P 500 up 0.15%, Nasdaq up 0.26%

(Updated at 8:43 a.m. ET/1243 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Ankika Biswas

July 9 (Reuters) -

Wall Street was set to open higher on Tuesday, supported by

new gains in semiconductor and megacap technology stocks, as

investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome

Powell for clues on the central bank's monetary policy path.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq looked on track to

set fresh intraday records after both indexes edged up to close

at record highs on Monday, lifted by gains in chip stocks and as

the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose to a more than

two-week high.

Intel ( INTC ) shares leapt 2.6% in premarket trading, while

AI-chip favorite Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Marvell Technology ( MRVL )

gained 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively.

Monday marked the 35th time this year the S&P 500 has

set a fresh closing record, as sharp gains in AI-linked and

other tech shares have kept equity sentiment bright, offsetting

the uncertainty around the Fed's rate-cut plans.

Investors will scrutinize Powell's Congressional testimony

later in the day to gauge the central bank's response to recent

economic data pointing to a slowdown in the labor market, amid

other signs of potential economic weakness.

The testimony, followed by questions from lawmakers, is

scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET. Powell will also testify at a

House committee hearing on Wednesday.

"The ability for Powell to change the thinking of the market

has been proved over the last six months as the market shifted

from six rate cuts to one, and after the weaker data in the last

two weeks, back to two," said Bob Savage, head of markets

strategy and insights at BNY Mellon.

The last set of economic projections from the central

bank's policymakers showed an expectation of just one rate cut

this year. But markets have stuck to pricing in 50 basis points

of easing, seeing a nearly 74% chance for a 25 bps cut at the

Fed's September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch.

Those bets were at under 50% a month ago.

Meanwhile, rate-sensitive megacap stocks Apple ( AAPL ),

Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Alphabet and

Meta Platforms ( META ) were up between 0.1% and 0.4%.

"The market is continuing on a bull run and, with the

prospects of rate cuts, I believe may continue for a while,"

said WisdomTree senior economist Jeremy Siegel.

Crucial inflation data is also due this week, including

Thursday's consumer price index and the producer price index

reading on Friday.

Investors are also awaiting the start of the second-quarter

corporate earnings season this week. PepsiCo ( PEP ) edged 0.2%

higher ahead of its results on Thursday.

Analysts, on average, see S&P 500 companies increasing their

aggregate earnings per share by 10.1% in the second quarter, up

from an 8.2% increase in the first quarter, according to LSEG

I/B/E/S data.

At 8:43 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 4 points,

or 0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.15%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 53 points, or 0.26%.

Among single movers, Tempus AI ( TEM ) jumped 3.2% after

multiple brokerages including J.P.Morgan and Morgan Stanley

initiated coverage of the stock with bullish ratings.

Eli Lilly gained 1.4% after a data analysis report

published on Monday showed its treatment Mounjaro leads to

faster and greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk's obesity drug,

Wegovy.