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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) gains on Q1 profit beat

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell to speak at 1:15 pm ET

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Futures up: Dow 0.54%, S&P 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.09%

(Updated at 8:31 a.m. ET/ 1231 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A

April 16 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main stock indexes were on track for a higher

open on Tuesday, with health insurers leading the charge

following upbeat results from industry major UnitedHealth ( UNH ), while

investors kept tabs on the conflict in the Middle East.

Dow Component UnitedHealth Group advanced 7.8% in

premarket trading after the health insurer beat expectations for

first-quarter adjusted profit.

Other health insurers such as Humana, CVS Health ( CVS )

and Centene ( CNC ) gained between 2.7% and 4.6%.

Financial firms were also in the spotlight, with Bank of New

York Mellon ( BK ) advancing 2.0% after the lender beat Wall

Street estimates for first-quarter results.

Morgan Stanley ( MS )

added 3.6% after beating first quarter profit

estimates, fueled by a resurgence in investment banking.

"The early morning earnings reports were good. But more

than that, the market is just searching for a bottom from its

recent sell off," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane

Investments.

"The broader market rally was really tied to a view of

lower rates. And at least for now, that seems to be gone and

there's more individual stock picking based on results more than

just index buying."

Meanwhile, Israel's war cabinet was set to meet for the

third time in three days, an official said, to decide on a

response to Iran's first-ever direct attack, amid international

pressure to avoid further escalation in conflicts in the Middle

East.

The yield on the 10-year government bond last

stood at 4.6468% a day after data showed U.S. retail sales

increased more than expected in March amid a surge in receipts

at online retailers. This was further evidence that the economy

had ended the first quarter on solid ground.

Several policymakers including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell are slated to speak later in the day, and investors will

be watching for clues on where the central bank stands on policy

easing.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Monday that

with the economy and the labor market strong and inflation still

above the Fed's 2% target, there was "no urgency" to cut U.S.

interest rates.

Traders see an about 49% chance of the Fed kicking off its

easing cycle in July, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Among other earnings, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) slipped 0.7%

as the drugmaker's first-quarter revenue missed analysts'

estimates after sales from its blockbuster psoriasis drug,

Stelara, fell short of expectations.

U.S. equities have sold off recently as investors sharply

readjusted their expectations of how much the Fed would cut

rates this year, with bets now showing only 43 basis points of

expected easing, according to LSEG data. This is down from about

150 bps seen at the start of the year.

At 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 204 points, or

0.54%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 7.25 points, or 0.14%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 16 points, or 0.09%.

Tesla shed 2.1% after falling over 5% in the last

session, when an internal memo seen by Reuters showed the EV

marker was laying off more than 10% of its global workforce.