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Futures up: Dow 0.96%, S&P 500 1.34%, Nasdaq 1.82%

Sept 19 (Reuters) -

U.S. stock index futures surged on Thursday, with those

tracking the Nasdaq climbing nearly 2% following the Federal

Reserve's move to start its easing cycle with a half a

percentage point cut, aiding a soft landing for the world's

biggest economy.

Rate-sensitive growth stocks like Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta

and Alphabet, that have led much of this

year's rally, advanced over 1.5% each in premarket trading.

Chip stocks also gained, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) up 2.8%,

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) rising 3% and Broadcom ( AVGO )

up 3.4%.

Futures tracking the domestically-focused Russell 2000 index

also shot up 2.5% to its highest level since July 31.

A lower interest environment could mean prospects of cheaper

operating costs and greater profits for companies that are

dependent on credit.

At 04:59 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 398 points,

or 0.96%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 76.25 points, or

1.34% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 355.75 points, or

1.82%.

After delivering its super-sized verdict on Thursday, the

Fed assured that it was not an emergency response and unveiled

projections that analysts say reflect conditions for the economy

to achieve a goldilocks scenario, where growth is steady and

inflation and unemployment stay low.

Traders now see a 64.2% chance that the central bank will

lower interest rates by 25 basis points at its November meeting,

as per the CME Group's FedWatch tool. Expectations are that the

central bank will trim rates by 72 bps by year-end, as per LSEG

data.

On the data front, investors will parse weekly jobless

claims and existing home sales for the month of August.

Market reaction in the aftermath of the decision was

muted, with all the three indexes closing slightly lower in the

previous session.

However, data going back to 1970 from Evercore ISI showed

the S&P 500 has posted an average 14% gain in the six months

following the first reduction of a rate-cutting cycle.

September has generally been a disappointing month for U.S.

equities with the S&P 500 notching an average loss of

1.2% since 1928. The S&P 500 has logged losses so far

this month but is close to record highs, and the blue-chip Dow

is just short of its respective milestone.

JPMorgan Chase & Co ( JPM ) added 1.1%, Bank of America ( BAC )

climbed 1.6%, Wells Fargo ( WFC ) advanced 1.5% after

the big banks lowered their respective prime rates. Citigroup ( C/PN )

also rose 1.5% after cutting its base lending rate.

Dell added 2.8% after declaring a quarterly cash

dividend.