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Macy's jumps after Arkhouse, Brigade raise buyout bid

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Crypto stocks soar after bitcoin bursts above $65,000

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Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) jumps ahead of S&P 500 entry

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Futures down: Dow 0.26%, S&P 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.01%

(Updated at 7:01 a.m. ET/1201 GMT)

By Ankika Biswas and Amruta Khandekar

March 4 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted

on Monday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq's record-closing

highs in the prior session, as investors paused at the start of

a week packed with key jobs data and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's

congressional testimony.

The Nasdaq kicked off March by hitting an intraday all-time

high on Friday, also closing at its highest level for the second

day, as the artificial intelligence-driven tech rally continues

to steal the spotlight on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 has also been on a record-breaking rally, with

BofA Global Research lifting its year-end target for the

benchmark index to 5,400, from 5,000, representing a 5% upside

from current levels.

All eyes will be on monthly non-farm payrolls, JOLTS job

openings and the ADP National Employment report as well as the

Fed's "Beige Book" scheduled throughout the week for insights

into the health of the economy.

Any negative surprises on the economic front that may

significantly delay the onset of rate cuts this year could

potentially test the market's undeterred upbeat sentiment.

Investors have already pared expectations for how quickly and

deeply the Fed will cut rates, as a stronger-than-expected

economy risks reigniting inflation if policy eases too soon.

Powell is also set to testify before lawmakers on

Wednesday and Thursday, with analysts assuming the Fed chief to

stay in wait-and-watch mode on policy after a recent escalation

in inflation.

"With January's core PCE inflation data picking up, the path

to achieving the 2% target may not be so easy, particularly with

the labor market data remaining strong. We still expect the

first Fed rate cut in June," HSBC analysts said in a note.

Market participants see a 73.3% chance of the first Fed rate

cut arriving in June and 90.4% odds of that happening in July,

as per CME Group's FedWatch tool.

At 7:01 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 101 points,

or 0.26%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 6.75 points, or

0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 2.5 points, or

0.01%.

Outperforming other megacap stocks, Nvidia ( NVDA ) gained

1.5% in premarket trading after its market value closed above $2

trillion for the first time on Friday.

Other chipmakers including Micron Technology ( MU ), Arm

Holdings, and U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor

Manufacturing gained between 2% and 3.6% and are set to

extend an AI rally from last week.

Shares of Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) jumped 13.2% after

the AI server maker was set to join the S&P 500 index.

Macy's advanced 15.8% after real-estate-focused

investing firm Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital

Management raised their offer for the department store chain.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related firms including

Coinbase Global ( COIN ), Bitfarms, Riot Platforms ( RIOT )

and Marathon Digital ( MARA ) climbed between 4% and

6.7% after bitcoin rallied to a two-year high and broke

above $65,000.

Shares of food delivery firm DoorDash ( DASH ) and

ride-hailing firm Lyft ( LYFT ) climbed 2.1% and 5.7%

respectively after RBC Capital Markets upgraded ratings on both

the stocks to "outperform" from "sector perform."