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Futures up: Dow 0.62%, S&P 500 0.68%, Nasdaq 0.95%

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FedEx ( FDX ) rises ahead of quarterly results post the closing

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Atlanta Fed chief says no rush to cut rates

(Updates before markets open)

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Nikhil Sharma

June 24 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were on track for a higher open

on Tuesday as President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire

between Israel and Iran, calming investor nerves after the

12-day conflict hurt global risk assets and fanned inflation

concerns.

Investors also assessed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

Powell's comments reiterating the central bank's wait-and-watch

approach to interest rates as tariff-driven price pressures

become evident.

"There's no question that Trump has put pressure to cut

interest rates. But I don't think Powell is going to budge,"

said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital

Securities.

The Israel-Iran ceasefire news sent oil prices to a

two-week low as supply concerns triggered by the Middle East

conflict eased. U.S. energy stocks followed crude prices lower

before the bell, with Chevron ( CVX ) and Exxon down

more than 1% each.

Defense stocks Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) and RTX Corp ( RTX )

fell 1% and 1.2%, respectively.

Trump's call for a truce marked a sharp turnaround after the

U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend and Iran

retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar.

Hours after the ceasefire declaration, however, Israeli

Defence Minister Israel Katz said Iranian missiles were fired in

violation of the agreement and he had ordered the military to

strike Tehran in response. Trump accused both countries of

violating the ceasefire.

Still, optimism around the ceasefire has kept equities

supported so far.

At 08:56 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 268 points, or

0.62%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 41.25 points, or 0.68%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 208.75 points, or 0.95%

The benchmark S&P 500 index remains about 2% below

its all-time highs.

Powell has been on the receiving end of Trump's criticisms

for not cutting interest rates, with the President hinting at

firing the top Fed policymaker or naming a successor soon.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic told Reuters the

central bank doesn't need to cut interest rates soon, as

companies plan to raise prices due to higher import taxes and

the job market is still strong.

In contrast, Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman on Monday backed

the resumption of the policy easing cycle in July.

Market participants are pricing in at least two 25-basis

point rate reductions before year-end, with the first cut seen

in September.

Several central bank officials, including Fed Board Governor

Michael Barr and Fed Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari, are

also scheduled to speak later in the day.

Consumer confidence data for June is due at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Focus later this week will be on the Commerce Department's

final take on first-quarter GDP and its Personal Consumption

Expenditures (PCE) data.

Megacap and growth stocks were trading higher, with Tesla

shares leading gains, up nearly 2%. Google-parent

Alphabet rose 1.2% while Amazon.com ( AMZN ) was up

1.6%.

Shares of crypto companies rose after bitcoin hit a one-week

high. Coinbase Global ( COIN ) was up 1% and Strategy

advanced 1.6%.

Package delivery firm FedEx ( FDX ) was up nearly 1.2% ahead

of quarterly results due after the closing bell.

(Reporting by Kanchana Chakravarty in Bengaluru; Editing by

Devika Syamnath)