(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) to close nearly 1,000 stores, shares drop

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Intel ( INTC ) down on report Pentagon scraps plan of $2.5 bln chip

grant

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Tesla slides after Wells Fargo rating cut

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Futures: Dow up 0.06%, S&P up 0.04%, Nasdaq down 0.08%

(Updated at 8:00 a.m. ET/1200 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Johann M Cherian

March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted

on Wednesday as investors awaited a slew of economic data this

week, including producer prices and retail sales numbers, for

hints on the timing of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cuts.

The benchmark S&P 500 climbed to a fresh record high on

Tuesday as shares of Oracle surged and slightly hot

consumer price data failed to dampen hopes of interest-rate cuts

in the coming months.

Despite inflation being well above the central bank's 2%

target, investors have found consolation in the fact that the

Fed still sees credit conditions easing in 2024, while the

economy remains resilient.

Traders now see a 66% chance of the first rate cut coming in

June, the CME FedWatch Tool showed. Since March 2022, the Fed

has raised its policy rate by 525 basis points to the current

range of 5.25% to 5.50%.

"While the February CPI data was noisy across segments, we

believe the U.S. economy continues to be in good shape and is

heading for a soft landing," said Mark Haefele, chief investment

officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, in a note.

On tap later this week is economic data that includes the

February producer prices on Thursday, which could offer more

insight into inflation in the world's largest economy.

At 08:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 23 points, or

0.06%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 2 points, or 0.04%, and

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 14.5 points, or 0.08%.

Some market participants believe the relentless U.S. stock

market rally is poised for a breather, even if it remains

unclear whether equities are in a bubble or a strong bull run.

Most megacap growth and technology stocks edged down in

premarket trading.

Tesla shed 2.2% after brokerage Wells Fargo

downgraded the electric-vehicle maker to "underweight" from

"equal weight".

AI giant Nvidia ( NVDA ) climbed 1.0% following its 7.1%

jump in the previous session.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) lost 8.2% after the discount chain

store group said it would close nearly 1,000 stores and incurred

a net loss for the previous quarter, hurt by an over-$1 billion

goodwill impairment charge. Peer Dollar General also slid

1.5%.

Intel ( INTC ) shed 1.4% after a report that the Pentagon

had pulled out of a plan to spend as much as $2.5 billion on a

chip grant to the company.

Crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy ( MSTR ), Marathon

Digital ( MARA ) and Bit Digital ( BTBT ) added 1.8% to 4.7% as

bitcoin hit a fresh record high.

GE HealthCare Technologies ( GEHC ) was down 5.7% as General

Electric ( GE ) is to cut its stake in the medical equipment

firm.