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Goldman Sachs raises S&P 500 year-end target to 5,600

points

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Autodesk ( ADSK ) up after report Starboard Value takes ~$500 mln

stake

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Chip stocks gain after price-target hikes

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'Reasonable' to predict December rate cut - Fed's Kashkari

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Futures: Dow down 0.26%, S&P 500 down 0.11%, Nasdaq up

0.05%

(Updated at 8:42 a.m. ET/1242 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Ankika Biswas

June 17 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Dow were set to open

lower on Monday as investors awaited fresh economic data and

comments from Federal Reserve officials throughout the week for

more clarity on monetary policy.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was on track to extend its strong

run, inching up as megacaps Apple ( AAPL ) and Nvidia ( NVDA )

rose between 0.6% and 1.1% in premarket trading.

Some chip stocks also rose, with Broadcom ( AVGO ) and

U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co

up more than 3% each. Arm Holdings and Micron

Technology ( MU ) gained over 2% each after price-target raises

by brokerages.

The blue-chip Dow was alone among the three major

indexes to post weekly declines on Friday, while the Nasdaq

notched its fifth consecutive record closing high. The

S&P 500 hit multiple all-time peaks in the previous week.

Some investors, however, are concerned about the

sustainability of the equity rally as megacap growth and

technology stocks were behind most of Wall Street's gains this

year.

"There really isn't an appetite to be a real seller right

now because there is a perception that momentum is going to

continue, and stocks are going to continue winning," said

Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.

"The fact that the rally has been driven mostly by a

select few stocks, that would mean that the pullback could be

even deeper."

Goldman Sachs still raised its 2024 year-end target for the

S&P 500 Index to 5,600 from 5,200 earlier, representing

about a 3.1% upside to the index's last close.

Markets are also keeping a close eye on upcoming comments

from the New York Fed's John Williams, Philadelphia Fed's

Patrick Harker and Fed Board Governor Lisa Cook.

The New York Fed's Empire State Current Business

Conditions index slipped less than expected, while the index of

prices paid softened slightly.

On the economic roster for the rest of the week are May

retail sales data on Tuesday, with industrial production,

housing starts and S&P flash PMI data among other key releases

due later in the week.

Recent hawkish projections from the Federal Reserve have

somewhat contrasted several data releases pointing to growing

weakness in the economy. The central bank dialed back their

projections for three rate cuts in 2024 to just one on

Wednesday.

One Fed rate cut in December is a "reasonable prediction",

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said in an interview on

Sunday.

However, markets still expect about two 25-basis-point cuts

this year, according to LSEG data. The CME FedWatch tool

shows easing is still seen beginning at the September

meeting.

At 8:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 94 points,

or 0.24%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 6 points, or 0.11%,

and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 8.75 points, or 0.04%.

Autodesk ( ADSK ) shares jumped 4.7% after a report that

activist investor Starboard Value had bought a roughly $500

million stake in the software maker.

Best Buy ( BBY ) climbed 4.2% following a report UBS

upgraded the electronics retailer to "buy" from "neutral".

A shorter trading week is on deck as markets will be closed

on Wednesday.