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

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

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Futures up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.18%, Nasdaq 0.10%

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Nvidia ( NVDA ) falls after China's anti-monopoly investigation

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Tesla gains as CEO Musk buys 2.57 million shares

(Updates prices)

By Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur

Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were muted

on Monday, setting a cautious tone for a crucial week in which

the Federal Reserve is widely expected to resume its interest

rate cutting cycle, while Tesla rose after CEO Elon Musk's share

purchase.

The EV maker jumped 6.4% in premarket trading

after Musk disclosed buying 2.57 million shares on Sept. 12 in

the open market.

This week, the Fed's rate decision will take center

stage, with investors expecting a 25-basis-point cut on

Wednesday following a series of economic indicators that pointed

to a deteriorating jobs market.

Investors are pricing in a total of about 69 points in

monetary policy easing by end-2025, data compiled by LSEG

showed. That implies nearly three quarter-point cuts this year -

one at the central bank's every remaining meeting.

"We do not think (Fed Chair) Jerome Powell this week would

be more dovish than the current market pricing ... but the risk

is that he puts more emphasis on inflation risks and the

uncertainty around the tariff impact which would tamper market

expectations of an overly dovish Fed," said Mohit Kumar,

economist at Jefferies.

In corporate developments, Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 1.7% in

premarket trading, as China's market regulator said it will

continue an investigation into the AI chip leader after

preliminary findings showed it had violated the country's

anti-monopoly law.

This comes while representatives from the U.S. and China

were engaged in trade talks in Madrid, Spain.

At 7:16 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 68 points, or

0.15%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 12 points, or 0.18% and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 25 points, or 0.1%.

Wall Street's three main indexes had logged weekly gains in

the previous session, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 hitting

intraday record highs on Friday as technology-linked stocks

remained resilient despite broader market declines.

The major indexes have performed positively thus far in

September, a month considered historically bad for U.S.

equities. The benchmark S&P 500 has shed 1.5% on average in the

month since 2000, data compiled by LSEG showed.

Among the final datasets before the Fed's September 16-17

meeting, Tuesday's retail sales report will provide crucial

insights into the U.S. consumer's health, following a slightly

hotter-than-expected inflation reading last week.

VF Corp ( VFC ) gained 3% after the Vans-parent announced

the sale of its Dickies brand to Bluestar for $600 million.

U.S.-listed shares of Smurfit Westrock rose 3.9%

after UBS initiated coverage on the cardboard box maker with a

"buy" rating.