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Futures up: Dow 0.06%, S&P 0.05%, Nasdaq 0.09%

April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged

higher on Wednesday in the lead up to a crucial inflation

reading that could influence the Federal Reserve's monetary

policy path this year.

Investors have dialed down enthusiasm around how much the

central bank could cut rates after recent data indicating a

robust U.S. economy, along with two firm inflation readings

earlier in 2024.

The March reading of the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) is

now in focus and is expected to show a rise in headline

inflation to 3.4% year-on-year, from 3.2% in February.

The core figure, which excludes volatile components such as

food and energy, is expected to ease to 3.7% year-on-year,

versus 3.8% in February.

Traders have priced in about 67-basis-point rate cuts by the

Fed, according to LSEG data, down from about 150 bps anticipated

at the start of the year.

Still, they see a nearly 54% chance of an at-least 25 bps

cut in June, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool, down from

over 60% last week.

Minutes from the Fed's March meeting, where it stuck to its

guidance of three rate cuts this year, are due later in the day

and could be key in gauging the central bank's stance on cutting

interest rates.

Significantly, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said in

an interview to Yahoo Finance on Tuesday that it was possible

the Fed may not cut interest rates at all this year if the

progress on inflation stalls and the economy continues to

outperform.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted modest

gains in the last session, although declining financial shares

weighed ahead of the unofficial start of the first-quarter

earnings season.

Banking giants JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), Citigroup ( C/PN ) and

Wells Fargo ( WFC ) are scheduled to report towards the end of

the week.

At 5:37 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 24 points, or

0.06%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.05%, and

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 16.75 points, or 0.09%.

Most megacap growth stocks ticked higher in premarket

trading, with Alphabet, Tesla and Apple ( AAPL )

up between 0.1% and 0.8%.

Among other individual stocks, U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan

Semiconductor Manufacturing Co rose 1% in premarket

trading after the chipmaker beat market estimates for

first-quarter revenue.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba gained over 3% after

the company's co-founder Jack Ma penned a lengthy memo to

employees on Tuesday, expressing support for the internet

giant's restructuring efforts - a rare move from the

billionaire, who has been out of the spotlight for a few years.