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Futures: Dow down 0.01%, S&P 500 up 0.03%, Nasdaq up 0.19%

June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were steady

on Tuesday, with those tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

hovering around record highs, ahead of retail sales data and

commentary from a number of Federal Reserve officials.

Technology stocks lifted the benchmark S&P 500 to its

fifth record high close in six sessions on Monday, and the

Nasdaq to its sixth consecutive record close.

Megacaps Apple, Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Alphabet

edged higher between 0.1% and 0.7% in premarket

trading on Tuesday.

Chipmakers Broadcom, Micron and U.S.-listed

shares of Arm Holdings rose between 0.5% and 2.7% after

their strong showing in Monday trade boosted the Philadelphia SE

Semiconductor index to a record high.

Focus now moves to fresh economic data in the United States,

where May retail sales will be closely watched, as well as

industrial production and business inventory data.

Comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials will also be

scrutinized for clues on how the central bank's members view the

current economic situation and path ahead for monetary policy,

after recent projections showed the Fed now sees just one

interest rate cut this year instead of the three previously

forecast.

Still, markets have pounced on a string of economic data

indicating some weakness among consumers and in the labor

market, and are predominately pricing in nearly 50 basis points

of easing this year, according to LSEG data.

"The depth and pace of the cutting cycle is still to be

determined, but we see two cuts this calendar year," John Velis,

Americas macro strategist at BNY Mellon, said.

Six Fed speakers are scheduled for Tuesday, including voting

committee members Thomas Barkin and Adriana Kugler, as well as

Susan Collins, Austan Goolsbee, Lorie Logan, and Alberto

Musalem.

Hopes for multiple rate cuts this year, enthusiasm for

artificial intelligence linked companies and strong earnings

from other tech firms have helped support equities, although

rallies over the past few months have largely been on the back

of a handful of stocks.

Futures tracking the blue-chip Dow and the Russell 2000

slipped on Tuesday. The small-cap Russell is

already down more than 2% for the month.

At 5:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 5 points, or

0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.5 points, or 0.03%, and

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 37.25 points, or 0.19%.

Homebuilder Lennar ( LEN ) fell 3.2% after forecasting

lower-than-expected third-quarter home deliveries after the bell

on Monday.

NextEra Energy fell 5.5%, extending losses from the

previous session after the utility firm announced a sale of $2

billion equity units at $50.

Edtech company Chegg ( CHGG ) jumped 20% after announcing

job cuts as part of a restructuring plan.

Markets will be closed on Wednesday for the Juneteenth

holiday.