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Futures down: Dow 0.10%, S&P 500 0.08%, Nasdaq 0.08%

July 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street futures slipped on

Thursday as markets braced for a key U.S. inflation print that

could bolster expectations of policy easing from the U.S.

Federal Reserve and keep equities on their record-breaking run.

The S&P 500 notched its sixth consecutive record

close and the Nasdaq its seventh on Wednesday, boosted

by gains in the most heavily weighted stocks as well as shares

of semiconductor companies.

AI-chip favorite Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 0.8% in premarket

trading after closing at a three-week high on Wednesday.

Other megacaps were mixed, with Tesla slipping

0.7%, while Meta Platforms ( META ) edged 0.10% higher.

Wednesday's rally came as Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome

Powell lifted expectations for the central bank to ease policy

in September, as markets currently expect. However, Powell was

unwilling to conclude inflation was moving sustainably down to

the bank's 2% target, reiterating that a rate-cut decision would

be reliant on data.

Markets now await June's reading of the Consumer Price Index

to see if the numbers will add to Powell's confidence.

Economists polled by Reuters forecast U.S. CPI slowed to 3.1% in

June from 3.3% in May, on an annual basis, with core inflation

expected to remain steady at 3.4%.

"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."

Weekly jobless claims data is also on the deck. The Producer

Price Inflation report, which is due on Friday, will also be

closely watched.

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 begins this week, with the

start of the second-quarter corporate earnings season. Big banks

are scheduled to report on Friday.

At 5:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 39 points,

or 0.10%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 4.75 points, or

0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 16 points, or

0.08%.

Delta Air Lines ( DAL ) rose 0.8%, ahead of results,

expected before markets open.

Among other single movers, packaged food maker Conagra

Brands ( CAG ) fell 1.1% ahead of the release of quarterly

results.