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Futures: Dow up 0.1%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq down 0.1%

Aug 14 (Reuters) - Futures tied to the S&P 500 paused on

Wednesday after the benchmark index logged four straight days of

gains as investors cautiously awaited a key inflation report for

clues on the pace of interest rate cuts from the Federal

Reserve.

Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.1% lower as Alphabet

dipped 1.3% in premarket trading. A media report said

the U.S. Department of Justice is considering options that

include breaking up Google.

A rebound in megacap and technology stocks have helped

markets recoup most of their losses from a global market rout

earlier this month that was partly caused by data showing a

surge in U.S. unemployment rate in July.

Market attention now turns to a July reading of the U.S.

Consumer Price Index (CPI), due at 8:30 a.m. ET, which is

expected to show headline inflation grew 3% year-on-year, same

as June.

The data comes on the heels of a softer-than-expected

producer prices data on Tuesday that indicated inflation

continued to moderate, although it is yet to reach the U.S.

central bank's 2% target.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said he

wants to see "a little more data" before he's ready to support

lowering interest rates.

"Notably, inflation has undershot consensus forecasts from

April through June, with both prices and wages coming in cooler

than economists anticipated," said Stefan Koopman, senior macro

strategist at Rabobank.

"We anticipate the Fed will cut rates in September,

primarily due to the rising unemployment rate and as a

precaution against a potential recession."

Traders broadly expect the Fed to begin its cycle of

monetary policy easing at its Sept. 17-18 meeting but are near

evenly split whether it would be a 25 bps rate cut or a more

hefty 50 bps cut.

At 05:18 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 50 points, or

0.13% and S&P 500 E-minis were mostly unchanged at 5,459.25

points.

The Cboe volatility index, Wall Street's fear gauge,

stayed below its long term average of 20 points for the second

day at 18.37 after hitting its highest since 2020 just last

week.

Among other stocks, Kellanova ( K ) jumped 7% in premarket

trading after a source told Reuters candy giant Mars is nearing

a deal to acquire the maker of snacks such as Cheez-It and

Pringles for nearly $30 billion.