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

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

*

Futures up: Dow 0.14%, S&P 500 0.2%, Nasdaq 0.14%

*

Pinterest ( PINS ) falls after missing Q2 profit estimates

*

Fed's Alberto Musale due to speak later in the day

*

Trade Desk ( TTD ) slumps after slower Q2 revenue growth

(Updates with prices before the opening bell)

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

Aug 8 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes looked at a positive start on

Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary pick for a

Federal Reserve governor post fueled expectations of a more

dovish central bank board.

At 8:21 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 12.5

points, or 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 34 points,

or 0.14%, and Dow E-minis were up 60 points, or 0.14%.

The president on Thursday said he will

nominate

Council of Economic Advisers chair Stephen Miran for a

short-term Fed seat, replacing Governor Adriana Kugler following

her surprise resignation last week, while the White House

continues to seek a permanent addition to the Fed's governing

board.

Trump has also narrowed his shortlist for a successor to

Fed Chair Jerome Powell following months of criticism over

Powell's refusal to cut interest rates and several retracted

threats to oust him. Powell's term ends on May 15.

The White House's push to overhaul the central bank's

leadership has fueled worries about its independence. At the

same time, investors believe revising Fed leadership could favor

looser monetary policy that aligns with Trump's agenda.

U.S. stocks lost steam on Thursday after

Bloomberg News reported

Fed Governor Christopher Waller was emerging as a leading

contender for the chair.

"He's (Miran) widely expected to join Waller and

Michelle Bowman in the dovish camp for the few meetings he will

attend, with a non-negligible risk he might try to build

consensus for a 50 basis point move," ING analysts send in a

note.

The Nasdaq ended at a record close, buoyed by tech names

after signs they could sidestep new chip tariffs by building

more in the United States.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were on track for their

best week in over a month.

Apart from tech stocks, equities have ridden a sharp

reset in rate expectations and a flurry of upbeat earnings.

The CME FedWatch tool shows traders see a 90% chance of

the first rate cut of the year coming next month - and futures

point to at least two cuts by year-end.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 and the Dow ended

lower, weighed down by a 14.1% drop in Eli Lilly ( LLY ) after

results from a late-stage study on its experimental GLP-1 pill

fell behind that of Novo Nordisk's.

Meanwhile, U.S. tariffs on a bunch of trading partners took

effect at midnight on Thursday. Tokyo's trade negotiator said

Washington will amend a presidential executive order to remove

overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods, terming it as oversight.

In earnings-related moves, Trade Desk ( TTD ) sank 31.7% in

premarket trading after the ad-tech firm reported a sharp

slowdown in second-quarter revenue growth.

Pinterest ( PINS ) tumbled 12.7% as the social media

platform missed analysts' estimates for second-quarter profit.

GoDaddy ( GDDY ) slipped 4.8% after its second-quarter

results failed to impress investors.

Expedia ( EXPE ) surged 17% after raising its annual

forecast for gross bookings and revenue growth.

St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem is scheduled to

speak later at 10:20 a.m. ET.