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Futures up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.32%, Nasdaq 0.51%

Oct 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on

Monday, building on gains from last week as a flurry of

AI-related dealmaking and softer labor market trends bolstered

expectations for an interest-rate cut.

The resilience in equities came despite the federal

government shutdown showing little signs of resolution,

underscoring the persistent appetite for tech stocks and an

increased focus on the upcoming earnings season for cues on the

trajectory of the economy.

"The current AI infrastructure buildout is structurally more

durable than prior large cycles. It's funded by strong cash

flows and AI adoption can happen without costly consumer device

upgrades," BofA Securities senior analyst Vivek Arya said in a

note.

While the shutdown has delayed the release of the closely

watched nonfarm payrolls report, a slew of alternative

indicators last week pointed to tepid hiring, reinforcing

expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates by 25 bps

at its next meeting.

With little else on the calendar today, traders lacking

fresh catalysts will have to lean on that same data to guide

near-term positioning.

At 05:25 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 72 points, or

0.15%, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis climbed 21.5 points, or

0.32%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis rose 127.25 points, or

0.51%.

Goldman Sachs expects the military pay date on October 15 to

pressure lawmakers into ending their deadlock. If the shutdown

stretches beyond that date, roughly 1.3 million uniformed

military personnel would go unpaid, the brokerage said.

However, even if a deal is reached, the timeline for

releasing delayed data remains uncertain, increasing the

likelihood that the Fed will be operating with limited

visibility into the economy at its upcoming meeting.

The third-quarter earnings season that kicks off next week

will also test the durability of the rally.

"The next two weeks of earnings are going to matter more

than usual. There will be some economists that look for proxies

for the government data. The most 'boots on the ground' data

that the Fed is going to have is going to be the earnings data

and the forecasts," said Arnim Holzer, global macro strategist

at Easterly EAB.

By the end of October, 68% of companies representing 72% of

market cap will have reported, according to Goldman.

Among stocks, Micron Technology ( MU ) rose 4% premarket

after Morgan Stanley upgraded it to "overweight" from "equal

weight".

Crypto stocks gained with bitcoin near all-time

highs. Coinbase Global ( COIN ) rose 2.6%, Riot Platforms ( RIOT )

jumped 3.7% while MARA Holdings ( MARA ) climbed 3.2%.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)