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Micron Technology ( MU ) surges after upbeat Q3 rev forecast

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Apple ( AAPL ) falls on report DOJ to sue co for antitrust

violations

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Reddit set for market debut later in the day

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Futures up: Dow 0.21%, S&P 0.32%, Nasdaq 0.69%

(Updated at 7:00 a.m. ET/1100 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan

March 21 (Reuters) -

Futures tracking Wall Street's main stock indexes gained on

Thursday as chip stocks rose following Micron Technology's ( MU )

upbeat forecast, while 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 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."

Inflation reports "haven't really changed the overall story,

which is that of inflation moving down gradually on a sometimes

bumpy road to 2%," Powell said in a press conference after the

policy meeting.

The CME FedWatch tool showed the market is now pricing

in a 70% chance of a Fed rate cut in June, compared with around

56% at the beginning of the week.

UBS Global Research

said that it now expects the first cut in June, compared

with its prior forecast of a cut in May.

Chipmaker Micron Technology jumped 17.7% 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 6.9%.

Separately, TD Cowen upgraded Broadcom's ( AVGO ) rating to

"outperform". The stock was up 2.7%.

Investors awaited data on weekly jobless claims and business

activity due later in the day.

At 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 85 points, or

0.21%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17 points, or 0.32%, and

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 127.75 points, or 0.69%.

Most rate-sensitive megacap growth and technology stocks

also advanced in premarket trading.

Apple ( AAPL ), however, fell 1.2% 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.

Reddit's shares are expected to start trading on the New

York Stock Exchange later in the day under the ticker 'RDDT'

after the social media platform priced its initial public

offering at the top end of its targeted range of $31 to $34 per

share.