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Futures up: Dow 0.29%, S&P 0.41%, Nasdaq 0.75%

March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on

Thursday as chipmakers tracked sharp gains in Micron Technology ( MU )

and investors took comfort in the Federal Reserve sticking to

its three-rate-cut view for this year.

Wall Street rallied on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 notching

a record high, after U.S. central bankers kept borrowing costs

unchanged and indicated they still expect to ease interest rates

by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of 2024.

The CME FedWatch tool showed the market is pricing in a

76.4% chance of a Fed rate cut in June, compared with around 56%

at the beginning of the week.

"The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting concluded

on a more dovish tone than even the optimistic marketplace had

anticipated," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at

CFRA.

"The Street went into this meeting expecting three cuts this

year, with the first coming by mid-year, and that is what

appears to have been communicated, as Chair Powell did not push

back against market expectations for a rate cut in June."

Chipmaker Micron Technology jumped 16.8% in trading

before the bell, after posting a surprise quarterly profit and

forecasting third-quarter revenue above estimates.

Peers such as Intel ( INTC ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) added more

than 1% each, while Western Digital ( WDC ) jumped 6%.

Investors awaited data on weekly jobless claims and business

activity due later in the day.

At 05:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 116 points,

or 0.29%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 21.75 points, or

0.41%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 138.25 points, or

0.75%.

Most rate-sensitive megacap growth and technology stocks

also advanced in premarket trading.

Apple ( AAPL ), however, fell 1.1% on a report that the U.S.

Department of Justice is preparing to sue the company as soon as

Thursday for allegedly violating antitrust laws.