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

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

*

Futures up: Dow 0.62%, S&P 500 0.84%, Nasdaq 0.84%

Aug 7 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on

Thursday, pointing to fresh gains on Wall Street, on signs that

major technology companies will avoid President Donald Trump's

latest tariffs on chip imports.

Apple's ( AAPL ) shares climbed 3.2% in premarket trading,

having risen 5.1% and led gains on Wall Street in the prior

session, after Trump said the iPhone maker will invest an

additional $100 billion in the U.S., bringing its total

commitment to $600 billion over the next four years.

Trump also announced a tariff of about 100% on imports of

semiconductors but said it would not apply to companies that are

manufacturing in the U.S. or have committed to do so.

Shares of chipmakers including Nvidia ( NVDA ), Advanced

Micro Devices ( AMD ) and Intel ( INTC ) rose in the range of

1.2% to 2.5%.

At 06:16 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 53.75

points, or 0.84%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 197 points,

or 0.84%, and Dow E-minis were up 274 points, or 0.62%.

The president's higher tariffs of 10% to 50% on dozens of

trading partners took effect on Thursday.

Still, expectations of policy easing by the Federal Reserve

- sparked by some disappointing economic data, particularly the

July payrolls report - as well as optimism around AI spending by

companies have kept markets near record highs.

Following the latest jobs data, traders have almost fully

priced in a 25 basis point rate cut in September and expect at

least two rate cuts this year, according to the CME Group's

FedWatch tool.

Weekly jobless claims data, due at 08:30 a.m. ET, could

offer fresh clues on the health of the labor market and shift

rate cut expectations.

Investors are also watching for Trump's interim replacement

for Fed Governor Adriana Kugler in the coming days, amid

expectations that the nominee would be a policy dove who will

likely favor bringing interest rates lower.

Kugler's resignation leaves an opening at the seven-member

Fed Board led by Chair Jerome Powell, who Trump has repeatedly

criticized for not cutting borrowing costs. Powell's tenure is

due to end in May 2025.

Second-quarter earnings barrage continued at full throttle.

DoorDash ( DASH ) topped revenue estimates and forecasted a

stronger-than-expected gross merchandise value for the current

quarter. Its shares jumped 8.6%.

Lyft's ( LYFT ) quarterly revenue miss took its stock down

2.3%, even as the ride-hailing firm gave an upbeat gross

bookings forecast for the September quarter.