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Futures: Dow down 0.31%, S&P up 0.05%, Nasdaq up 0.51%

June 13 (Reuters) - Futures tracking the Nasdaq leapt on

Thursday on gains in heavyweight technology stocks, aided by

broadly unchanged bets on the Federal Reserve easing interest

rates in September despite the central bank projecting just one

cut this year.

Investor sentiment got a boost from softer-than-expected

inflation data and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's acknowledgement

that progress had been made in tackling price pressures.

While markets trimmed bets on a September start to rate

cuts, they still expect an over 60% chance of that happening,

according to the CME's FedWatch tool. Interest rate 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.

Benchmark Treasury yields slid on Wednesday,

helping the S&P 500 and Nasdaq close at

record highs

even though they pared gains from earlier in the session.

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 2.1%, though shares of other

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

slipped between 0.4% and 0.6%.

Solid gains in a handful of megacap technology stocks and

expectations of a soft landing for the economy have been key

factors behind the S&P 500 and Nasdaq's strong runs this year.

S&P 500 futures rose on Thursday, though Dow futures fell

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 ) shares rose 0.2%, set to reclaim the title of

the world's most valuable company from Microsoft ( MSFT ) if

gains hold.

At 5:40 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 119 points,

or 0.31%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.75 points, or 0.05%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 100.25 points, or 0.51%.

Meanwhile, Tesla leapt 5% 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 7.8%, a day after

announcing a 1-for-20 reverse stock split.