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Futures up: Dow 0.67%, S&P 500 0.86%, Nasdaq 1.18%

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Nucor ( NUE ) falls after downbeat quarterly forecast

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Intel ( INTC ) jumps as Nvidia ( NVDA ) takes $5 bln stake in co

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Weekly jobless claims data due at 8:30 a.m. ET

(Updates prices)

By Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures gained on

Thursday, with those tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq at

record highs a day after the U.S. central bank delivered a

quarter-point interest rate cut, while Intel ( INTC ) climbed after

Nvidia ( NVDA ) decided to build a stake in the company.

Intel ( INTC ) jumped 31% in premarket trading after

Nvidia ( NVDA ) said on Thursday that it

will invest

$5 billion, throwing its heft behind the struggling U.S.

chip foundry, but stopped short of giving Intel ( INTC ) a crucial

manufacturing deal.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was up 2.6%, bouncing back from Wednesday's

declines when a report said Chinese tech firms might stop buying

its chips.

Intel ( INTC ) peer Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) slipped 2.9%.

Meanwhile, after the highly expected cut, Federal

Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the softening jobs market

was a priority for the central bank, indicating more reductions

could follow at its October and December meetings.

Investors are pricing in 44.6 basis points in cuts by

end-2025, implying nearly two quarter-point cuts, data compiled

by LSEG showed.

Futures tied to the small-cap Russell 2000 index

gained 1.6%, as these companies are likely to perform better in

a low interest-rate environment.

"Powell referred to this as a 'risk management' cut,

emphasizing this move as a form of insurance against growing

signs of labor market weakness," said Jean Boivin, head of the

BlackRock Investment Institute.

"Any future policy easing would be conditional on data

supporting that a soft labor market is real and persistent."

At 07:12 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 311 points, or

0.67%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 57 points, or 0.86% and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 283.5 points, or 1.18%.

Concerns around the independence of the Fed also seemed to

fade as attempts by President Donald Trump's administration to

fire Governor Lisa Cook were unsuccessful and Governor Stephen

Miran, sworn in on Tuesday, was the only dissenter of the move,

calling for a bigger 50 bps cut.

The Fed decision is expected to add to Wall Street's recent

rally, where the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit intraday record

highs in multiple sessions, boosted by monetary policy easing

hopes and a revival of AI-linked stock.

The three indexes have gained so far in September - a month

deemed bad for U.S. equities historically - where the S&P 500

has shed 1.4% on average since 2000, data compiled by LSEG

showed.

A weekly reading of jobless claims is due before markets

open.

Among stocks, CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gained 6% after at least

two brokerages raised their price target on the stock.

Nucor ( NUE ) slipped 3.8% after the steel company said it

expected third-quarter profit to decrease across all its three

operating segments.

Nike ( NKE ) was 1.9% higher after RBC upgraded the

sportswear retailer to "outperform" from "sector perform".

Radian Group ( RDN ) rose 4.1% after the mortgage insurer

said it will buy UK-based Lloyd's specialty insurer Inigo for

$1.7 billion.