(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

*

Futures: Dow off 0.02%, S&P up 0.34%, Nasdaq adds 0.65%

March 18 (Reuters) -

Futures tracking the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose on Monday

ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting this week, where it is

expected to keep borrowing costs steady and provide cues on its

monetary policy path this year.

Stronger-than-expected inflation figures last week have

prompted investors to rethink when and by how much policymakers

will lower rates this year, with traders pulling back bets of a

June rate cut to 57% from 71% last Monday, according to the CME

FedWatch Tool.

Nevertheless, led by optimism around artificial intelligence

(AI), Wall Street hit fresh all-time highs in March, before

pulling back some gains last week.

A hawkish tilt by the Fed in its policy meeting that

concludes on Wednesday could further pressure the high-flying

shares.

"While the recent pullback in tech stocks may follow fears

that the market has run too far and portfolios are too

concentrated, we believe investors can find compelling

diversification opportunities through the next AI leaders," said

Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth

Management.

Investors eyed chipmaker Nvidia's ( NVDA ) GTC developer

conference from March 18 to 21, which will be parsed for

AI-related announcements. Shares of the AI giant rose 2.1% in

premarket trading.

Peers such as Micron Technology ( MU ) and Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ) added 2.6% and 1.2%, respectively.

At 5:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 6 points, or

0.02%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 17.5 points, or 0.34%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 117.5 points, or 0.65%.

Most megacap growth and technology shares also advanced in

trading before the bell.

Alphabet gained 3.1% after a media report that

Apple ( AAPL ) is in talks to build Google's Gemini AI engine

into the iPhone.

Tesla rose 3.3% after the electric carmaker said it

would increase the price of its Model Y EVs in some European

countries on March 22, by approximately 2,000 euros ($2,177) or

its equivalent in local currencies.

U.S.-listed shares of Xpeng climbed 7.0% on plans

to launch a cheaper EV brand amid fierce price competition.

Meanwhile, Boeing ( BA ) shed 1.1% after a media report that

a Federal grand jury in Seattle issued a subpoena to the

planemaker over the Jan. 5 midair blowout.