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Futures down: Dow 0.17%, S&P 500 0.16%, Nasdaq 0.07%

Feb 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted

on Wednesday, as investors refrained from making big bets ahead

of a crucial inflation reading which could influence the Federal

Reserve's interest rate path this year.

The January consumer price index (CPI) data is due at 8:30

a.m. ET, with headline inflation estimated to rise 0.3%

month-on-month, and remain steady at 2.9% on an annual basis, as

per economists polled by Reuters.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile components like food

and energy, is expected to rise 0.3% on a monthly basis, and

ease to 3.1% year-on-year.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell also begins his second day of

testimony before Congress shortly after the CPI data is

released.

On Tuesday, Powell had reiterated that the U.S. central bank

is in no rush to cut its short-term interest rate again, while

refraining from commenting on the impact of U.S. President

Donald Trump's tariff policies.

"The combination of fresh tariffs, Powell's testimony, and

key inflation data creates a perfect storm for market

volatility," Lukman Otunuga, senior analyst at FXTM, said in an

e-mailed statement.

"If tariffs fuel inflation fears, the Fed may be forced into

a more hawkish stance, adding further uncertainty."

Traders expect at least one 25-basis-point interest-rate cut

from the Fed this year and a 40% chance of another reduction of

the same magnitude - down from about a 60% chance on Tuesday -

according to LSEG data.

January's reading would be the last inflation reading before

any direct impact from Trump's tariff measures, which went into

effect this month.

Trump had slapped an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods

last week and levied tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports

on Monday.

His trade advisers are also finalizing plans for the

reciprocal tariffs on every country that charges duties on U.S.

imports.

At 4:52 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 74 points,

or 0.17%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 10 points, or 0.16%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 14.5 points, or 0.07%.

Wall Street's main indexes ended mixed in the last session,

with the S&P 500 ending almost flat, while the Nasdaq

dipped nearly 0.4%.

Tesla was set to log its sixth straight day of

declines, down 1.6% in premarket trading.

Health insurer CVS Health ( CVS ), drugmaker Biogen

and Jell-O maker Kraft Heinz ( KHC ) are some of the prominent

companies reporting earnings before the bell.

Among early movers, Lyft ( LYFT ) dropped 12.4% after the

ride-hailing company forecast current-quarter gross bookings

below estimates. Bigger rival Uber ( UBER ) also fell 1.4%.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) advanced 5.5% after the server

maker said it believes it will be able to file delayed annual

and quarterly reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission by February 25.