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Futures: Dow up 0.60%, S&P 500 up 0.12%, Nasdaq off 0.10%

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) surges after Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) investment

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Applied Materials drops on weak China demand forecast

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Investors monitor Trump-Putin summit at Alaska

(Updates to before markets open)

By Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy

Aug 15 (Reuters) - The blue-chip Dow was on track to

open at a record high on Friday, underpinned by expectations of

an interest rate cut in September and gains in UnitedHealth's ( UNH )

shares after Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) raised its stake in the health

insurer.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) jumped 10% in premarket trading

after Warren Buffett's company revealed a new

investment in the health insurer, while a securities filing

showed Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management included bullish

positions in the company.

Rising costs in the broader healthcare sector and an about

46% slump in heavyweight UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) shares this year have

left the Dow lagging its Wall Street peers on the road to

record highs. The price-weighted index last scaled an all-time

high on December 4.

This week, however, the healthcare sector is

the top performer on the benchmark S&P 500 and is on track for

its best weekly performance in three.

Other insurers also gained, with Elevance up 4.2%,

Centene ( CNC ) rising 4% and Molina adding 3.5% before

the bell on Friday.

Meanwhile, data showed retail sales rose by an expected 0.5%

in July, but a spike in import prices raised concerns that U.S.

tariffs could fuel inflation in the months ahead.

Wall Street's main U.S. stock indexes are on track for

their second week of gains, buoyed by expectations that the Fed

could restart its monetary policy easing cycle with a

25-basis-point interest rate cut in September.

The central bank last lowered borrowing costs in December

and said U.S. tariffs could add to price pressures. However,

recent labor market weakness and signs that tariff-induced

inflation was yet to reflect in headline consumer prices have

made investors confident of a potential dovish move next month.

"The totality of the data keeps the Fed alive for a

September rate cut," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at

B Riley Wealth.

"If you take the components of consumer inflation and

producer inflation and extrapolate that out to the Personal

Consumption Expenditures Price Index, it's going to be well

within the confines of what the Fed would like to see to feel

comfortable cutting rates in September."

At 08:43 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 269 points, or

0.60%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 7.5 points, or 0.12%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 25 points, or 0.10%.

On the trade front, U.S. President Donald Trump said he

would unveil tariffs on steel and semiconductors next week.

Applied Materials tumbled 12.8% after the chip equipment

maker issued weak fourth-quarter forecasts on sluggish China

demand, fueling concerns over tariff-related risks.

Shares of other chip equipment makers such as KLA

and Lam Research ( LRCX ) lost 5.1% and 4.4%, respectively.

Intel ( INTC ) rose 3.1% on the heels of a 20% gain this

week after a report said the Trump administration was in talks

with the struggling chipmaker for the U.S. government to

potentially take a stake in the company.

On the commodities front, crude prices slipped to around $65

a barrel with attention on a meeting in Alaska between Trump and

his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, that markets hope could

pave the way for a resolution to the Ukraine conflict. The

meeting will take place at 1900 GMT.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)