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Futures up: Dow 0.04%, S&P 500 0.08%, Nasdaq 0.14%

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Circle gains as US Senate passes stablecoin bill

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Nucor ( NUE ) rises after it forecast Q2 profit above estimates

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

(Updates before markets open)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta

June 18 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set

for a muted open on Wednesday, ahead of the Federal Reserve's

monetary policy decision, as the Israel-Iran conflict that

entered its sixth day kept investors on edge.

Investors will closely monitor Fed Chair Jerome Powell's

comments to gauge how he plans to combat the risk of rising

prices, which remains a dominant concern for the central bank.

The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its meeting,

scheduled later in the day.

"We're still at the beginning stages of feeling that real

income shock from higher tariffs in the United States, and the

uncertainty effect builds up over time," said Simon Dangoor,

head of fixed income macro strategies at Goldman Sachs Asset

Management.

"So I think the next couple of months of data is going to be

really key about where we go from here."

Ahead of the monetary policy decision, money market moves

show traders are pricing in about 45 basis points of rate cuts

by the end of 2025, with a 55% chance of a 25-bps rate cut in

September, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Following strong monthly equity trading in May, the

benchmark S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq were close

to record peaks before the ongoing conflict in the Middle East

made investors risk averse.

The S&P 500 index is about 2.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

remains about 3.3% below their record levels.

Investors have been anxious 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 were steady after gaining 4% in the previous

session, as markets assessed the chance of supply disruptions in

the Middle East.

At 08:38 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 16 points, or

0.04%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 5 points, or 0.08%.

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 30.5 points, or 0.14%

Among premarket movers, shares of stablecoin issuer Circle

Internet ( CRCL ) rose 2.9% 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 13.7% 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.

Shares of steelmaker Nucor ( NUE ) rose 3.3% following a

second-quarter profit forecast above estimates.

Initial jobless claims data on Wednesday showed the number

of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits

fell last week, but stayed at levels consistent with a further

loss of labor market momentum in June.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty and Sukriti Gupta in

Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)