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Futures up: Dow 0.27%, S&P 500 0.33%, Nasdaq 0.43%

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Micron Technology ( MU ) rises on upbeat Q4 revenue outlook

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GDP Final for Q1 and jobless claims data due at 08:30 a.m.

ET

(Updates with prices and comment)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Nikhil Sharma

June 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on

Thursday, putting Wall Street on track to open near record

highs, as robust earnings from memory-chip maker Micron fueled

optimism around artificial intelligence while investors awaited

economic growth data.

The benchmark S&P 500 and tech-led Nasdaq

were nearly 1% below their all-time peaks at Wednesday's close,

supported by the de-escalation in Middle East hostilities.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to hold talks

with Iran next week to seek a commitment on Tehran ending its

nuclear ambitions, which were the catalyst for Israel's attacks

earlier this month.

Chipmakers tracked a 2% premarket rise in Micron Technology ( MU )

shares after the company forecast quarterly revenue above

estimates, citing growth in demand for its chips used in AI data

centers.

Shares of Marvell Technology ( MRVL ) and Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ) climbed 2% and 2.4%. Nvidia ( NVDA ) rose 1.1%

after scaling a fresh all-time high on Wednesday.

Investors also weighed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell's remarks during his two-day congressional testimony,

where he reiterated a wait-and-see approach toward interest rate

cuts.

Powell "maintaining a cautious stance is understandable,

particularly when you've still got uncertainty around these

trade tariffs while the negotiation period is going on," said

Daniel Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

Trump has intensified his attacks on Powell for not cutting

rates sooner. On Wednesday, the president labeled Powell as

"terrible", saying he had narrowed down his choice to three or

four candidates to potentially replace the Federal Reserve

Chair.

The move could affect the central bank's independence at a

time when policymakers are striving to balance the risk of

slowing growth and higher inflation, as Trump's wide-ranging

tariffs and geopolitical turmoil threaten to drive up prices in

the short-term.

Traders are pricing in about 63 basis points worth of rate

cuts by the end of 2025, with expectations for the first cut to

be seen in September.

For the day, the focus is on the Commerce Department's final

take on first-quarter GDP, as well as durable goods data for May

and initial jobless claims data, all due at 08:30 a.m. ET.

At 07:04 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 116 points, or

0.27% and S&P 500 E-minis were up 19.5 points, or 0.32%.

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 96.5 points, or 0.43%.

Shares of sportswear company Nike ( NKE ) edged up 0.6%

ahead of its quarterly results due before the opening bell.

Some of the central bank officials scheduled to speak later

in the day include Fed Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, Fed

Richmond President Thomas Barkin, Fed Cleveland President Beth

Hammack, Fed Board Governor Michael Barr and Fed Minneapolis

President Neel Kashkari.

On Friday, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE)

report - the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation - will be

scrutinized to ascertain tariff-induced price changes in the

U.S. economy.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Nikhil Sharma in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)