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Futures up: Dow 0.21%, S&P 500 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.35%

June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged

higher on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary

policy decision, while the Israel-Iran conflict entered its

sixth day, with new missile strikes launched from both sides.

A Federal Reserve monetary policy decision is due at 02:00

p.m. ET where policymakers are widely expected to leave interest

rates unchanged at the 4.25%-4.5% range.

Investors will focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments

to gauge how he plans to combat the risk of rising prices, which

remain a dominant concern for the central bank. The central bank

is expected to balance the risk of slowing growth and higher

inflation.

"A lot has happened since their last meeting in early May

... given that uncertainty and the potential for fresh

inflationary spikes, they're widely expected to keep rates on

hold again," Jim Reid, global head of macro and thematic

research at Deutsche Bank, said in a note.

Money market moves show traders are pricing in about 46

basis points of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with a 56% chance

of a 25-bps rate cut in September, according to CME Group's

FedWatch tool.

With conflict escalating in the oil-rich Middle East,

markets have been on edge over the possibility of a more direct

U.S. military involvement in the Israel-Iran aerial war.

A source familiar with internal discussions said U.S.

President Donald Trump and his team were considering a number of

options, which included joining Israel in strikes against

Iranian nuclear sites.

At 05:37 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 89 points, or

0.21%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 16.5 points, or 0.28%.

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 75.5 points, or 0.35%.

Initial jobless claims data is scheduled at 08:30 a.m. ET.

Among premarket movers, shares of Tesla rose nearly

1%.

Shares of stablecoin issuer Circle Internet ( CRCL ) rose

3.1% after the U.S. Senate passed a bill to create a regulatory

framework for dollar-pegged cryptocurrency tokens known as

stablecoins.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru; Editing by

Shinjini Ganguli)