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Workday, Apollo Global Management ( APO ) up on planned S&P 500

addition

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Interpublic jumps after report co, Omnicom ( OMC ) in merger talks

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Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 down 0.06%, Nasdaq down 0.18%

(Updates with prices)

By Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan

Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were subdued

on Monday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record

closing highs in the previous session on upbeat corporate

forecasts, while investors awaited a key inflation report due

later this week.

The consumer prices index (CPI) data due on Wednesday is

among the last major datasets ahead of the Federal Reserve's

Dec. 17-18 meeting and could influence the central bank's

monetary policy path.

Bets of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December shot up to

more than 87%, as data on Friday showed U.S. job growth surged

in November after being severely hindered by hurricanes and

strikes, but a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.2% pointed to

an easing labor market.

"We remain in the December rates cut camp and expect a

25bp cut next week," economists at Jefferies wrote in a note.

"However, post December meeting, we expect the pace of

rates cuts to slow to once a quarter, and we expect the next

rates cut to be in March."

Meanwhile, Citigroup

revised

its December rate cut call to 25-bps versus its prior

forecast of 50 bps.

A host of Fed officials including Chair Jerome Powell last

week said that the central bank could afford to be more cautious

with its monetary policy easing path, given the resilience of

the economy.

At 7:13 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 1 point, or

0%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 3.75 points, or 0.06%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 38 points, or 0.18%.

Wall Street's main indexes kicked off December on a broadly

positive note, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the

tech-heavy Nasdaq logging gains in their first week,

while the Dow ended the week marginally lower.

U.S. equities surged in November as Donald Trump's victory

in the presidential election and his party sweeping both houses

of Congress raised expectations of a friendlier policy stance

towards companies.

Global markets were also keeping an eye on political

developments in Syria, France and South Korea.

Among notable premarket movers, Workday and Apollo

Global Management ( APO ) jumped 9% and 6.3%, respectively, on

their planned inclusion into the S&P 500 index.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was last down 1.8% after China's market

regulator said it has opened an investigation into the company

over suspected violation of the country's antimonopoly law.

Interpublic Group advanced 14.6% after a report said

marketing conglomerate Omnicom ( OMC ) was in advanced talks to

acquire the advertising company. Omnicom ( OMC ) shares were down 5.2%.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies gained after the

Chinese Politburo hinted at a shift to looser monetary policy

next year and more proactive fiscal policy to spur economic

growth. Alibaba was up 6.1%, PDD Holdings ( PDD )

climbed 9.1% and Baidu added 5.3%.