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Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 up 0.18%, Nasdaq up 0.32%

June 26 (Reuters) - Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures advanced

on Wednesday as Nvidia ( NVDA ) and other chip stocks continued to regain

momentum ahead of a key inflation reading this week, while FedEx ( FDX )

shares soared on the back of an upbeat annual profit forecast.

AI chip firm Nvidia ( NVDA ) climbed 2.2% premarket,

recovering from recent losses, while semiconductor stocks

Broadcom ( AVGO ), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing

and Arm Holdings gained 1% each.

Micron Technology ( MU ) also jumped 3% ahead of its

quarterly results, due after the closing bell.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, S&P 500 information

technology index and Philadelphia SE Semiconductor

index all notched gains of more than 1% on Tuesday.

The AI stocks rally is expected to leave an outsized imprint

on the final reconstitution of the Russell indexes on Friday.

Megacaps such as Meta Platforms ( META ) and Alphabet

edged up in premarket trading after their more than 2%

jump on Tuesday. Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) also

gained on Wednesday.

At 5:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 6 points, or

0.02%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 9.75 points, or 0.18%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 64.5 points, or 0.32%.

Investors also braced for Friday's personal consumption

expenditures price index - the Federal Reserve's preferred

inflation gauge. With the Fed projecting only one interest rate

cut likely in December, all eyes will be on whether the data

shows an expected moderation in price pressures.

Market participants see a near 60% chance of a 25-basis

point rate cut in September, and about two cuts by the year end,

LSEG's FedWatch data showed.

Delivery giant FedEx ( FDX ) jumped 13.5% after forecasting

fiscal 2025 profit above estimates.

Rivian soared 37% as German automaker Volkswagen

said it will invest up to $5 billion in the U.S.

electric-vehicle maker as part of a new, equally controlled

joint venture.

Albemarle rose 2.5% as the world's largest lithium

producer plans to hold more auctions for the metal used in EV

batteries.