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

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

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Futures: Dow down 0.05%, S&P 500 down 0.01%, Nasdaq up

0.05%

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Circle gains as US Senate passes stablecoin bill

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Fed's policy decision due at 02:00 p.m. ET

(Updates with prices)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

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

on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy

decision, as investors traded cautiously amid the raging

Israel-Iran conflict that entered its sixth day.

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 the 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.

Oil prices fell earlier after gaining 4% in the previous

session, as markets assess the chance of supply disruptions from

the Iran-Israel conflict and a direct U.S. involvement.

At 06:55 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 21 points,

or 0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 0.75 points, or

0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 10.75 points, or

0.05%.

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

Among premarket movers, shares of stablecoin issuer Circle

Internet ( CRCL ) rose 1.4% after the U.S. Senate passed a bill

to create a regulatory framework for dollar-pegged

cryptocurrency tokens known as stablecoins.

Scholar Rock ( SRRK ) rose 21.9% after the drugmaker said

its experimental drug helped overweight patients preserve lean

mass in a mid-stage trial when used in combination with Eli

Lilly's ( LLY ) weight-loss treatment.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta in

Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)