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S&P, Nasdaq and Dow futures flat

May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted on

Wednesday after a strong run of gains that pushed the benchmark

S&P 500 to over three-week highs, as investors sought more

clarity on the Federal Reserve's plans for interest rate cuts.

The S&P 500 closed higher for a fourth straight

session on Tuesday, its best winning run since March, while the

blue-chip Dow scored a fifth session of gain in its

longest positive run since December 2023.

Markets have mostly traded higher so far in May, as

investors took comfort from an upbeat earnings season as well as

a recent softer-than-expected labor market report, which

tempered concerns about the Fed keeping interest rates higher

for longer.

Investors will focus on comments on Fed Vice Chair Philip

Jefferson, Boston Fed President Susan Collins and Governor Lisa

Cook during the day for fresh clues on the central bank's

monetary easing plans.

With the earnings season at its tail-end and only a few

economic reports expected this week, markets are now awaiting

next week's consumer prices reading to gauge if inflation is

cooling.

Traders are pricing in a 49% chance of the U.S. central bank

cutting interest rates by 25 basis points in September,

according to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, up from 43% a week

ago. They are also pricing in a 36% chance of another rate cut

in December.

By 5:56 a.m. ET, S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.25

points. Nasdaq 100 e-minis slipped 3.5 points, or 0.02%,

and Dow e-minis were up 13 points, or 0.03%

Overall, the first-quarter earnings have been much better

than expected. Of the 424 S&P 500 companies that reported

through Tuesday, nearly 78% topped analysts' estimates,

according to LSEG data. In a typical quarter, 67% beat

estimates.

Uber ( UBER ), Fox Corp ( FOXA ) and Philip Morris ( PM ),

among other U.S. companies, will report results before the

opening bell.

Reddit ( RDDT ) climbed nearly 14% premarket after the

social media platform said it could post an adjusted profit in

the second quarter, thanks to its booming advertising business

and content-licensing deals with AI companies.

Lyft ( LYFT ) climbed 5.4% after the ride-hailing company

projected higher-than-expected gross bookings and a core profit

for the current quarter. Rival Uber ( UBER ) also gained 3.3%.

Rivian slid 4.3% after the electric-pickup truck

maker stuck to a 2024 production forecast that was well below

Wall Street targets and reported a wider-than-expected

first-quarter loss as it ended a weeks-long manufacturing halt.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)