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Futures up: Dow 0.12%, S&P 500 0.24%, Nasdaq 0.40%

July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on

Tuesday, with megacap technology and semiconductor stocks set to

prolong Monday's rally as investors waited to hear testimony

from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for clues on the

monetary policy path.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq inched upwards to

close at record highs on Monday, lifted by the rally in chip

stocks as the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose to a

more than two-week high.

That marked the 35th time this year the benchmark index has

set a fresh closing record, as sharp gains in AI-linked stocks

and technology shares have kept equity sentiment bright,

offsetting the uncertainty around the central bank's rate-cut

plans.

Intel ( INTC ) shares leapt 3.8% in premarket trading on

Tuesday after gaining over 6% in the previous session, while

AI-chip favorite Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 1.1% and Marvell

Technology ( MRVL ) was up 1.0%.

Investors will scrutinize Powell's Congressional

testimony later in the day to gauge how the central bank is

assessing recent economic data that points to a slowdown in the

labor market, amid other signs of potential economic

weakness. The testimony, followed by questions from lawmakers,

is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET.

"We expect Mr. Powell's comments in the Q&A to be either

balanced or slightly dovish, given the resumption in progress on

disinflation and signs that economic activity and employment are

slowing, albeit gradually," analysts at Unicredit said in a

note.

Policymakers' own projections show an expectation of just

one rate cut this year, but markets have stuck to pricing in 50

basis points of easing, seeing a nearly 74% chance for a 25 bps

cut at the Fed's September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch.

Those bets have risen from under 50% a month ago.

Rate-sensitive megacap stocks Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon.com ( AMZN )

, Alphabet and Meta Platforms ( META ) were up

between 0.3% and 0.5%.

"The market is continuing on a bull run and, with the

prospects of rate cuts, I believe may continue for a while,"

said WisdomTree senior economist Jeremy Siegel.

Crucial inflation data is also due this week. Thursday's

consumer price index and Friday's release of the producer price

index will provide insight into whether inflationary pressures

in the world's largest economy are easing.

Investors are also looking ahead to the start of the

second-quarter corporate earnings season this week. Analysts, on

average, see S&P 500 companies increasing their aggregate

earnings per share by 10.1% in the second quarter, up from an

8.2% increase in the first quarter, according to LSEG I/B/E/S

data.

At 5:53 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 47 points, or

0.12%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 13.75 points, or 0.24%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 83.25 points, or 0.40%.

Among single movers, shares of Tempus AI ( TEM ) rose 3.9%

after J.P.Morgan initiated coverage of the stock with an

overweight rating.

Shares of Eli Lilly gained 0.7% after a data

analysis report published on Monday showed its treatment

Mounjaro leads to faster and greater weight loss than Novo

Nordisk's obesity drug, Wegovy.