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

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

*

Micron Technology ( MU ) surges after upbeat Q3 rev forecast

*

Apple ( AAPL ) falls on report DOJ to sue co over antitrust laws

*

Reddit set for market debut later in the day

*

Futures up: Dow 0.29%, S&P 0.50%, Nasdaq 1.01%

(Updated at 8:30 a.m. ET/1230 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan

March 21 (Reuters) -

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

Thursday as chip stocks rallied following Micron Technology's ( MU )

upbeat forecast, while investors took comfort in the Federal

Reserve sticking to its three-rate-cut view for this year.

Wall Street rallied on Wednesday, with the S&P 500

notching a record high after U.S. central bankers kept borrowing

costs unchanged and indicated they still expect to ease interest

rates by three-quarters of a percentage point by the end of

2024.

"The tone was very much expected, it was basically

saying that yes, we're getting closer to the point where we can

cut rates, but we still need more data," said Mohit Kumar, chief

European economist at Jefferies.

Inflation reports "haven't really changed the overall story,

which is that of inflation moving down gradually on a sometimes

bumpy road to 2%," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press

conference after the policy meeting.

The CME FedWatch tool showed the market is now pricing in a

70% chance of a Fed rate cut in June, compared with around 56%

at the beginning of the week.

UBS Global Research said that it now expects the first cut

in June, compared with its prior forecast of a cut in May.

Chipmaker Micron Technology jumped 17.3% in trading

before the bell after posting a surprise quarterly profit and

forecasting third-quarter revenue above estimates.

Peers such as Intel ( INTC ) and Nvidia ( NVDA ) added more

than 1% each, while Western Digital ( WDC ) jumped 7.2%.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) gained 2.9% as TD Cowen upgraded its

rating to "outperform".

A report from the Labor Department showed initial claims

for state unemployment benefits dropped 2,000 to a seasonally

adjusted 210,000 for the week ended March 16, compared to

economists' forecast of 215,000 claims.

Investors awaited business activity data due later in the

day.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 117 points, or

0.29%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 26.25 points, or 0.5%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 186 points, or 1.01%.

Most rate-sensitive megacap growth and technology stocks

also advanced in premarket trading.

Apple ( AAPL ), however, eased 0.7% on a report that the

U.S. Department of Justice is preparing to sue the company as

soon as Thursday for allegedly violating antitrust laws.

IT services provider Accenture fell 6.8% after it

cut its fiscal-year 2024 revenue forecast, as an uncertain

economy prompts clients to cut spending on its consulting

services

Reddit's shares are expected to start trading on the New

York Stock Exchange later in the day under the ticker 'RDDT'

after the social media platform priced its initial public

offering at the top end of its targeted range of $31 to $34 per

share.