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Futures up: Dow 0.51%, S&P 500 0.73%, Nasdaq 0.98%

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Bank of America ( BAC ) raises NII forecast; Q3 profit beats

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Morgan Stanley's ( MS ) third-quarter profit jumps

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US chipmakers gain after ASML results

(Updates before markets open)

By Sukriti Gupta and Twesha Dikshit

Oct 15 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were set to open higher on

Wednesday after solid results from Bank of America ( BAC ) and Morgan

Stanley ( MS ), while chipmakers climbed as ASML reported strong

quarterly results.

Bank of America ( BAC ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS ) added

3.8% and 4.1%, respectively, premarket after the top lenders

beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on

dealmaking strength. Bank of America ( BAC ) also raised the low end of

its interest income forecast range.

"We've seen really good results from the big banks that

have reported thus far, some impressive beats there, so I would

expect that we'd see positive sentiment and a good market

reaction," said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man

Group.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at

a CNBC event that the wave of investment into the U.S. economy

is

sustainable

and is only getting started.

A day earlier, lenders including Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) reported solid performance in investment

banking and predicted that the business would continue to boom.

Analysts expect third-quarter earnings growth to be 9.2%

year-on-year, slightly higher than the previously forecast 8.8%,

according to LSEG I/B/E/S data from Tuesday.

Shares of U.S. chipmakers rose after ASML

reported third-quarter orders and operating income above market

expectations. U.S.-listed shares of ASML were up 4.4%.

Micron Technology ( MU ) and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD )

gained 2.6% each, while Intel ( INTC ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) added

1.7% and 2.6% respectively.

At 8:43 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 235 points, or

0.51%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 49 points, or 0.73%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 242 points, or 0.98%.

A slate of Fed officials including governors Stephen Miran

and Christopher Waller, Atlanta President Raphael Bostic and

Kansas City boss Jeffrey Schmid are set to speak later in the

day.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell left the door open to

rate cuts on Tuesday by saying the U.S. labor market remained

mired in low-hiring, low-firing doldrums.

Fed's Beige Book of economic condition, due at 2:00 p.m.

ET, is also on radar.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Washington

was considering cutting some trade ties with China, including in

relation to cooking oil. That came after the two countries began

imposing tit-for-tat port fees, adding to concerns about the

China-U.S. trade war.

Among other stocks, Abbott declined 2.9% after its

quarterly revenue fell short of analysts' expectations.

BlackRock ( BLK ) and a group backed by Nvidia ( NVDA )

will acquire Aligned Data Centers in a deal worth $40 billion,

the companies said. Shares of BlackRock ( BLK ) were up 1.1%.

U.S.-listed shares of gold miners gained as bullion prices

surged past $4,200 an ounce for the first time. Newmont ( NEM )

rose 1.8%.