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S&P 500 notches 35th record closing high this year

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Powell to speak at 10 a.m. ET

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Lilly up after data shows its Mounjaro more efficient than

Wegovy

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Futures up: Dow 0.08%, S&P 500 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.37%

(Updated at 7:12 a.m. ET)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Ankika Biswas

July 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on

Tuesday, with semiconductor and megacap technology stocks set to

prolong Monday's rally as investors awaited comments from

Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for clues on the central

bank's monetary policy path.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq inched upwards to

close at record highs on Monday, lifted by the rally in chip

stocks as the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose to a

more than two-week high.

That marked the 35th time this year the benchmark index has

set a fresh closing record, as sharp gains in AI-linked and

other tech shares have kept equity sentiment bright, offsetting

the uncertainty around the Fed's rate-cut plans.

Intel ( INTC ) shares leapt 3.2% in premarket trading after

jumping over 6% on Monday, while AI-chip favorite Nvidia ( NVDA )

and Marvell Technology ( MRVL ) gained over 1% each.

Investors will scrutinize Powell's Congressional

testimony later in the day to gauge how the central bank is

assessing recent economic data that points to a slowdown in the

labor market, amid other signs of potential economic weakness.

The testimony, followed by questions from lawmakers, is

scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET.

"We expect Mr. Powell's comments in the Q&A to be either

balanced or slightly dovish, given the resumption in progress on

disinflation and signs that economic activity and employment are

slowing, albeit gradually," analysts at Unicredit said in a

note.

Policymakers' own projections show an expectation of just

one rate cut this year, but markets have stuck to pricing in 50

basis points of easing, seeing a nearly 74% chance for a 25 bps

cut at the Fed's September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch.

Those bets have risen from under 50% a month ago.

Rate-sensitive megacap stocks Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon.com ( AMZN )

, Alphabet and Meta Platforms ( META ) were up

between 0.3% and 0.5%.

"The market is continuing on a bull run and, with the

prospects of rate cuts, I believe may continue for a while,"

said WisdomTree senior economist Jeremy Siegel.

Crucial inflation data is also due this week. Thursday's

consumer price index and Friday's release of the producer price

index numbers will provide insights into whether inflationary

pressures in the world's largest economy are easing.

Investors are also looking ahead to the start of the

second-quarter corporate earnings season this week, with big

banks reporting on Friday.

Analysts, on average, see S&P 500 companies increasing their

aggregate earnings per share by 10.1% in the second quarter, up

from an 8.2% increase in the first quarter, according to LSEG

I/B/E/S data.

At 7:12 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 30 points,

or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 12.5 points, or 0.22%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 77.25 points, or 0.37%.

Among single movers, Tempus AI ( TEM ) jumped 5.2% after

multiple brokerages including J.P.Morgan and Morgan Stanley

initiated coverage of the stock with bullish ratings.

Eli Lilly gained 0.4% after a data analysis report

published on Monday showed its treatment Mounjaro leads to

faster and greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk's obesity drug,

Wegovy.