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

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

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Futures down: Dow 0.05%, S&P 500 0.02%, Nasdaq 0.16%

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Bank of America ( BAC ) profit rises, shares gain

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Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) up as Q2 profit beats estimates

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Global Payments ( GPN ) up after report of Elliott's stake

(Updates with prices, comment)

By Pranav Kashyap and Nikhil Sharma

July 16 (Reuters) -

U.S. stock index futures came under pressure on Wednesday as

investors evaluated signs of inflation from U.S. tariff policies

while also monitoring a new round of major corporate earnings.

U.S. semiconductor equipment makers were down after ASML

warned it may not achieve growth in 2026 because of U.S. tariff

uncertainty.

Applied Materials ( AMAT ) and Lam Research ( LRCX ) fell

2.8% each in premarket trading. KLA Corp ( KLAC ) was down 2.7%,

while Teradyne ( TER ) lost 0.9%.

Bank of America ( BAC ) gained 1.4% after its

profit rose

in the second quarter as its traders brought in more

revenue from tumultuous markets in the second quarter.

On Tuesday, JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and Citigroup ( C/PN )

posted better-than-expected results but remained cautious about

U.S. tariff policies.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) rose 1% after the

drugmaker on Wednesday reported second-quarter profit above

estimates and raised its full-year sales forecast by around $2

billion.

At 6:57 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 24 points, or

0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 1.5 points, or 0.02%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 36.75 points, or 0.16%.

The cautious mood in the markets followed Tuesday's

inflation report, which pointed to rising prices fueled by

President Donald Trump's tariffs and dimmed hopes for deeper

rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.

"Yet even now, the problem is that inflation risks are still

being underestimated, with a remarkable complacency across key

assets," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.

Money markets pricing show traders are betting on just 43

basis points of Fed easing by year-end, with a July rate cut off

the table and the odds of a September move now a coin-flip.

Investors will keep a close watch on producer prices data

scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, searching for signs of

rising costs at the factory gate.

Trade tensions also remained in focus after Trump announced

a 19% tariff on Indonesian goods as part of a new deal, one of

several rushed agreements ahead of an August 1 deadline for

broader tariff hikes. Meanwhile, the European Union was

preparing retaliatory measures should talks with Washington

falter.

Still, investors have shown resilience in recent weeks. The

tech-heavy Nasdaq closed at a record high on Tuesday, powered by

a jump in Nvidia's ( NVDA ) shares after the chip designer

announced plans to resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China.

The stock, however, eased 0.4% in premarket trading.

Global Payments ( GPN ) rose 6.1% after the Financial Times

reported that activist hedge fund Elliott Management built a

significant stake in the payments technology firm.