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Futures: Dow down 0.34%, S&P up 0.1%, Nasdaq up 0.60%

(Updated at 7:10 a.m. ET/1110 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Johann M Cherian

June 13 (Reuters) - Nasdaq futures advanced on Thursday

as chip stocks gained ahead of crucial inflation and labor

market data that could sway expectations of interest rate cuts

from the Federal Reserve.

Investor sentiment also got a boost from

softer-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation data and Fed

Chairman Jerome Powell's acknowledgement that progress had been

made in tackling price pressures.

Benchmark Treasury yields slid on Wednesday,

helping the S&P 500 and Nasdaq close at record highs.

Solid gains in a handful of megacap technology stocks and

expectations of a soft landing for the economy have been key

factors behind the two indexes rallying this year.

Markets trimmed bets on a September start to rate cuts, with

odds standing at over 60%, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.

Despite the central bank projecting only one rate

reduction this year, traders are pricing in nearly two 25 basis

point cuts, according to LSEG data.

"Ultimately, whether there are one or two rate cuts this

year matters much less than the overall path of policy rates,

the FOMC remains entirely data-dependent, but it acknowledges

that policy must stop being restrictive before it harms the

economy," said Paolo Zanghieri, senior economist at Generali

Investments.

"We do not think that the current meeting rules out our

expectation of two rate cuts this year," Zanghieri said.

UBS Global Research said it now expects the Fed to cut

interest rates in December instead of September, while Goldman

Sachs and Morgan Stanley continue to expect the first cut in

September.

May's producer price index reading and weekly jobless claims

data are due before markets open on Thursday, and New York Fed

President John Williams will moderate a panel later in the day.

A rally in tech stocks persisted in premarket trading, with

shares of Broadcom ( AVGO ) soaring 13.5% after the company

raised its forecasts for revenue from chips designed for

artificial intelligence operations and announced a 10-for-1

forward stock split.

Peer Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 2.2%, though shares of other

megacaps Amazon ( AMZN ), Meta Platforms ( META ) and Alphabet

slipped between 0.2% and 0.4%.

At 7:10 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 131

points, or 0.34%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 5 points, or

0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 117.25 points, or

0.6%.

The weakness in Dow futures comes after the blue-chip index

closed roughly flat in the previous session.

Futures tracking the more economically sensitive small-cap

Russell 2000 also fell 0.5% after the index notched its

best day in over a month on Wednesday.

Apple ( AAPL ) edged down 0.2%, after jumping to an

all-time-high in the previous session and briefly overtaking

Microsoft as the world's most valuable company.

Tesla leapt 6.8% after Elon Musk said company

shareholders were voting to approve his $56 billion pay package

and to move the electric-vehicle maker's legal home to Texas.

Virgin Galactic ( SPCE ) plunged 9.1%, a day after

announcing a 1-for-20 reverse stock split.