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Futures: Dow down 0.07%, S&P 500 up 0.05%, Nasdaq up 0.18%

Oct 16 (Reuters) - Dow and S&P 500 futures remained

steady on Wednesday, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose slightly

following a tech and oil stock selloff in the previous session,

as investors awaited quarterly results from Morgan Stanley ( MS ) and

other banks.

Chip heavyweight Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 0.9% in premarket

trading, after slumping nearly 5% in the previous session,

following a report the Biden administration is considering

capping AI chip exports by U.S. companies.

Semiconductor stocks were broadly mixed, with the

U.S.-listing of chip equipment-maker ASML Holding

losing 4% after the company cut its annual sales

forecast on Tuesday.

At 5:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 30 points,

or 0.07%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were up 2.75 points, or

0.05%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 37.25 points, or

0.18%.

Steep declines in semiconductor and oil stocks dragged on

Wall Street in the previous session, while investors assessed a

mixed bag of earnings. Shares of health insurer UnitedHealth ( UNH )

slumped, offsetting the gains from upbeat results from

major banks.

Corporate results are due through the week, along with key

economic data including the retail sales and industrial

production figures on Thursday, all of which are expected to

shed light on consumer health and the growth outlook for the

world's largest economy.

Indexes were trading around record high levels despite

Tuesday's fall, with continued optimism about future rate cuts

from the Federal Reserve as well as economic growth buoying

sentiment.

"I continue to view dips as buying opportunities, with said

downside likely to prove shallow and short-lived in nature,"

said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone.

Banks will be in focus on the day, with most big names

reporting broadly upbeat results so far. Earnings from companies

including Morgan Stanley ( MS ), Citizens Financial Group ( CFG )

and U.S. Bancorp ( USB ) are due before the bell.

"Providing that banks prove a reliable barometer for

earnings season more broadly, solid earnings growth, coupled

with resilient economic growth, should continue to power the

market higher," Brown said.

Bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Federal Reserve's

November meeting have risen above 90%, according to CME's

FedWatch.

September import and export prices data is also due later in

the day.

Shares of rate-sensitive megacap tech stocks edged higher in

premarket trading, helped by easing U.S. Treasury yields. Apple ( AAPL )

gained 0.2% after touching a record high on Tuesday,

while Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) both rose 0.2%.

Shares of Interactive Brokers Group ( IBKR ) fell 5% after

missing estimates for adjusted third-quarter earnings.