US STOCKS-Wall St set for lower open with Powell's testimony on tap

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Updates prices before markets open

By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set for a lower open on Tuesday, as investors awaited a testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for insight on tariffs and their impact on inflation in the world's biggest economy.

Most megacap and growth stocks ticked lower in premarket trading, while some steelmakers extended gains from the previous session, when President Donald Trump substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

Inflation data, due on Wednesday, also dominated market focus ahead of Fed Chair Powell's semiannual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Now that there are some actual numbers on tariffs, "(Powell) is going to have to provide some clarity", said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial.

"He can't really punt on those questions because there's enough details where the Fed speaker should have an opinion on at least on some of these measures."

Comments from three other Fed heads, including New York's John Williams, are on the radar throughout the day.

On Wednesday, the January consumer price index (CPI) reading will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, with Powell set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee later on.

Traders expect at least one 25-basis-point interest-rate cut from the Fed this year, and a 60% chance of another reduction of the same magnitude, according to LSEG data.

Meanwhile, steelmakers Cleveland-Cliffs CLF.N and Steel Dynamics STLD.O rose 3.6% and 2.1%, respectively, a day after Trump's steel and aluminum levies, which are set to take effect on March 4.

Aluminum Century Aluminum CENX.O gained close to 1%.

Trump also said he would follow Monday's action with announcements over the next two days about reciprocal tariffs on all countries that impose duties on U.S. goods.

All three main indexes closed higher on Monday, as investors returned to AI-linked shares, with Nvidia NVDA.O closing almost 3% higher.

On Tuesday, most megacap and growth stocks edged lower. Apple AAPL.O and Amazon.com AMZN.O were down 0.6% and 0.7%.

At 08:24 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 126 points, or 0.28%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 22.5 points, or 0.37%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 124.75 points, or 0.57%.

Phillips 66 PSX.N gained 6.6% after Reuters reported that activist Elliott Investment Management had built a stake of over $2.5 billion in the oil refiner.

EARNINGS

DuPont de Nemours DD.N gained 5.6% after the industrial materials maker raised its 2025 profit forecast on strong demand for electronics.

Coca-Cola KO.N advanced 3.3% as the beverage maker beat fourth-quarter revenue estimates, helped by higher prices and resilient demand for its sodas and juices.

Fidelity National Information Services FIS.N dropped 9.9% after the banking and payments processing conglomerate forecast first-quarter profit below estimates.

With more than half of the S&P 500 .SPX companies done with reporting their quarterly numbers, 76.6% have beaten earnings expectations of analysts, per data complied by LSEG.