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FedEx ( FDX ) leaps after upbeat profit forecast

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Rivian up on Volkswagen joint venture

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Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) falls after results

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Futures: Dow down 0.17%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq up 0.13%

(Updated at 7:11 a.m. ET/1111 GMT)

By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

June 26 (Reuters) -

Futures for the Nasdaq advanced on Wednesday as Nvidia ( NVDA ) and

other chip stocks continued to regain momentum, while those

tracking the Dow edged lower ahead of a key inflation reading

this week.

AI chip favorite Nvidia ( NVDA ) climbed 2.1% premarket,

continuing its gain after a three-session selloff, though still

below the record high level touched last week.

Other chip stocks Broadcom ( AVGO ), Taiwan Semiconductor

Manufacturing and Arm Holdings were up between

0.1% and 0.9%, while Micron Technology ( MU ) rose 2.8% ahead of

its quarterly results, due after the closing bell.

"If investors remain so convinced of the chip designer's

future that they drive it up to new highs ... it will restore

the company's status as the stock market's bullish bellwether,"

said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation.

"If not, then further weakness could easily sour

sentiment in general, even if there is perceived value outside

the tech leaders."

Meanwhile, delivery giant FedEx ( FDX ) jumped 13.4% after

forecasting fiscal 2025 profit above estimates on Tuesday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq, the S&P 500 information

technology index and the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor

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

Tuesday's gains marked a rebound for those sectors which

have been the primary reasons for Wall Street's rise to fresh

record highs, as enthusiasm around artificial

intelligence-linked companies offset concerns about

higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates.

Several economic data releases are awaited this week,

with Friday's release of the personal consumption expenditures

price index - the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge -

the most closely watched.

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.

Megacaps Apple and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) gained

0.2% and 0.9% on Wednesday.

The AI stocks' rally is expected to leave an outsized

imprint on the annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes on

Friday, typically one of the busiest trading days of the year.

At 7:11 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 66 points,

or 0.17%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 0.75 points, or

0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 26.5 points, or

0.13%.

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.

Shares of Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) dropped 3.2% after the

company cut forecasts for second-quarter unit revenue, citing

uneven travel demand.

Albemarle rose 2.7% as the world's largest lithium

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

batteries.

Shares of major U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ),

Citigroup ( C/PN ), and Bank of America ( BAC ) slipped between

0.3% and 0.6% ahead of the Federal Reserve's release of results

from its annual banking sector stress test.