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Futures: Dow up 0.63%, S&P 500 up 0.06%, Nasdaq off 0.19%

Aug 15 (Reuters) - Futures tracking the Dow and the S&P

500 were higher on Friday, underpinned by expectations of an

interest rate cut in September, while UnitedHealth ( UNH ) surged after

Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) raised its stake in the health insurer.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) gained more than 12% in premarket

trading after Warren Buffett's company revealed a new

investment in the health insurer, while a securities filing also

showed Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management included bullish

positions in the company.

Rising costs in the broader healthcare sector and an about

46% slump in heavyweight UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) shares this year have

left the blue-chip Dow lagging its Wall Street peers on

the road to record highs.

This week however, the healthcare sector is the top

performer on the benchmark S&P 500 and is on track for its best

weekly performance in three.

Other insurers including Elevance, Centene ( CNC )

and Molina added more that 4.4% each before the bell on

Friday.

More broadly, the main U.S. stock indexes are on track for

their second week of gains, buoyed by expectations that the Fed

could restart its monetary policy easing cycle with a

25-basis-point interest rate cut in September.

The central bank last lowered borrowing costs in December

and said U.S. tariffs could add to price pressures. However,

recent labor market weakness and signs that tariff-induced

inflation was yet to reflect in headline consumer prices have

made investors confident of a potential dovish move next month.

"A 25bps rate cut is still almost fully priced in although

it has put a dampener on tentative expectations that the Fed

could deliver an even larger 50bps rate cut like last

September," analysts at MUFG said in a note.

"Market participants are still confident that the Fed will

resume rate cuts in response to weakness in the labor market and

the lack of pass through so far to consumer prices from higher

tariffs as evident in this week's CPI report."

At 05:38 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 285 points, or

0.63%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 3 points, or 0.06%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 46.5 points, or 0.19%.

Focus will now be on July retail sales data, due later in

the day, and the University of Michigan's report on consumer

confidence, for clues on the health of the American consumer.

Among other stocks, Applied Materials ( AMAT ) tumbled 14.8%

after the chip equipment maker issued weak fourth-quarter

forecasts on sluggish China demand, fueling concerns over

tariff-related risks.

Shares of other chip equipment makers such as KLA

and Lam Research ( LRCX ) lost 6.1% and 5.6%, respectively.

Intel ( INTC ) rose 2.8% on the heels of a 20% gain this

week after a report said the Trump administration was in talks

with the struggling chipmaker for the U.S. government to

potentially take a stake in the company.

On the commodities front, crude prices slipped to around $65

a barrel with attention on a meeting in Alaska between U.S.

President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir

Putin, that markets hope could pave the way for a resolution to

the Ukraine conflict. The meeting will take place at 1900 GMT.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)