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Futures down: Dow 0.47%, S&P 500 0.64%, Nasdaq 0.88%

Nov 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on

Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there was

no need to reduce interest rates in a hurry, pushing up bond

yields and pressuring rate-sensitive equities.

In a speech on Thursday, Powell pointed to ongoing economic

growth, a solid job market, and inflation above the Fed's 2%

target as reasons the central bank can afford to be careful as

they determine the pace and scope of rate cuts going forward.

U.S. Treasury yields rose broadly after Powell's comments,

while Wall Street's main indexes closed lower.

"Fed Chair Powell telegraphed news that markets didn't want

to hear but news that was clearly manifest in the last CPI

report, that the Fed cannot yet declare victory in its campaign

to quell inflation," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist

for LPL Financial.

Traders increased bets that the Fed will keep rates on hold

at its December meeting - pricing in a 37.6% chance, compared

with 14% a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool. They

now expect only about 73 basis points of total easing by the end

of 2025, per LSEG calculations.

All three major U.S. stock indexes are set for weekly

losses, as a sharp post-election rally has fizzled out with

market focus shifting to the state of the economy and potential

inflation risks under a second Donald Trump presidency.

Stocks of vaccine makers lost ground after the

President-elect selected Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has spread

misinformation on vaccines, to head the Department of Health and

Human Services.

BioNTech, Moderna ( MRNA ) and Novavax ( NVAX ) all

fell more than 2% in premarket trading, while Pfizer ( PFE )

dipped 0.4%.

At 5:30 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 205 points,

or 0.47%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 38.5 points, or

0.64%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 185.5 points, or

0.88%.

Futures tracking the more rate-sensitive, small-cap Russell

2000 dropped 0.3%.

Megacaps stocks also fell. Nvidia ( NVDA ) edged 0.5% lower,

Apple ( AAPL ) dropped 1% and Alphabet was down 0.6%

Powell's comments come after both consumer and producer

prices data this week pointed to persistent inflation.

Friday's October retail sales data, due at 8:30 a.m. ET,

will provide more signals on how consumers have coped with

rising prices.

Import and export prices as well as industrial production

data are also on deck through the day, while remarks from New

York Fed President John Williams are also expected.