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Futures up: Dow 0.03%, S&P 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.23%

July 10 (Reuters) - Futures for the S&P 500 and the

Nasdaq gained on Wednesday as the most heavily weighted stocks

rose in premarket trading, while markets awaited comments from

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and key events later in the

week for more direction.

Both the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

notched record high closes in the previous session - the fifth

consecutive record high for the benchmark index and the sixth

straight one for the Nasdaq.

AI-chip favorite Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 1.0%, while Tesla

edged up 0.10% in premarket trading after HSBC hiked

its price target on the stock. The EV maker clocked its 10th

straight session of gains in the previous session.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that

the "U.S. was "no longer an overheated economy", supporting

hopes that the central bank could start cutting interest rates

in September.

However, as expected, Powell refrained from committing to a

timeline for rate cuts. He is slated to appear before the House

Financial Services Committee later in the day for further

questioning from lawmakers.

"We believe Powell is happy with keeping markets relatively

quiet at this stage as some data starts to go in the right

direction, we did read a still modestly dovish bias in Powell's

testimony, as he kept adding emphasis on the risks of unduly

weakening activity and employment," analysts at ING said in a

note.

Bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut by September have hovered

around 70% for the past week, up from 45% a month ago, according

to CME's FedWatch. Comments from Fed officials Austan Goolsbee,

Michelle Bowman and Lisa Cook are also expected through the day.

All the so-called "Magnificent Seven" stocks were trading

higher before markets opened, with Meta Platforms ( META ),

Apple ( AAPL ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) gaining between 0.3% and

0.4%.

The group of seven stocks has been the main force behind

Wall Street's banner rally this year, while the broader market

has lagged, leading some market watchers to question the

sustainability of equity gains and call for more

diversification.

Attention will now shift to U.S. inflation data this week,

with June's reading of the Consumer Price Index due on Thursday

and the Producer Price Index report on Friday, for clues on the

interest-rate path.

Second-quarter earnings kick off this week, with major banks

scheduled to report on Friday. The season will be a key test for

whether high-flying megacaps can justify expensive valuations

and continue their strong runs.

At 5:52 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 12 points, or

0.03%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 7.75 points, or 0.14%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 48.25 points, or 0.23%.

Among single movers, shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber

Company ( GT ) gained 2.3% after a report that Japan's Yokohama

Rubber was in talks to buy its off-road tire business for at

least $1 billion.

The U.S. listing of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co

rose 1.9% after the world's largest chipmaker reported

32% year-on-year growth in second-quarter revenue.