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Futures up: Dow 0.14%, S&P 500 0.25%, Nasdaq 0.31%
Aug 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on
Friday after President Donald Trump's temporary pick for a
Federal Reserve governor fueled expectations of a more dovish
central bank board.
Trump said on Thursday he would nominate Council of Economic
Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran as Fed Governor Adriana Kugler's
interim replacement, following Kugler's surprise resignation
last week.
U.S. stocks lost steam on Thursday after Bloomberg News
reported that Fed Governor Christopher Waller is emerging as a
top candidate to be the central bank's next chair.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for
not cutting interest rates and has accelerated the search for a
replacement after several retracted threats to oust Powell
before his term ends on May 15.
The White House's push to overhaul the central bank's
leadership has fueled worries about its independence. At the
same time, investors believe revising Fed leadership could favor
looser monetary policy that aligns with Trump's agenda.
According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, traders broadly
expect the Fed's first rate cut of the year next month and see
at least two reductions by year-end.
At 5:31 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 16 points,
or 0.25%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 72.25 points, or
0.31% and Dow E-minis were up 61 points, or 0.14%.
The Nasdaq eked out a record closing high on
Thursday after signs that major technology firms could avoid
Trump's new tariffs on chip imports by manufacturing in the
United States.
But the S&P 500 and the Dow ended lower,
weighed down by a 14.1% drop in Eli Lilly ( LLY ) after results
from a late-stage study on its experimental GLP-1 pill fell
behind that of Novo Nordisk's.
Meanwhile, U.S. tariffs on a bunch of trading partners took
effect at midnight on Thursday. Tokyo's trade negotiator said
Washington will amend a presidential executive order to remove
overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods, terming it as oversight.
In earnings-related moves, Trade Desk ( TTD ) sank 29% in
premarket trading after the ad-tech firm reported a sharp
slowdown in second-quarter revenue growth.
Pinterest ( PINS ) tumbled 12.5% as the social media
platform missed analysts' estimates for second-quarter profit.
Microchip Technology ( MCHP ) lost 7.9% after the
chipmaker's first-quarter results failed to impress investors.
St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem is scheduled to
speak later at 10:20 a.m. ET.