US STOCKS-Wall Street eyes strong weekly gains as trade deal, inflation ease jitters

By Shashwat Chauhan and Pranav Kashyap

May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Friday, positioning Wall Street to lock in a bullish week fueled by a U.S.-China tariff truce and tamer inflation data, while traders focused on a crucial vote on President Donald Trump's sweeping tax legislation.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington cautioned that Friday's planned vote on the tax bill might be delayed due to opposition to the measure.

Wall Street's main indexes were poised for robust weekly gains. The market found its footing earlier in the week, rallying on Monday and Tuesday after Washington and Beijing agreed to a 90-day pause in their escalating trade war.

This early-week surge successfully propelled the S&P 500 .SPX back into positive territory year-to-date – the first time it's seen green since late February. It, however, remains about 4% away from its all-time highs.

"Looking ahead, the risk-on momentum could persist for the next month or so, although likely at a slower pace, with some consolidation in risky assets," Societe Generale analysts said.

On the economic docket, University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment reading for May is due at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Data from earlier in the week showed U.S. retail sales growth losing steam in April, while consumer prices staged a moderate rebound.

Focus would also be on comments from Federal Reserve policymakers, with at least two officials including Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin slated to speak throughout the day.

At 07:21 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 141 points, or 0.33%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 18.5 points, or 0.31%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 72.25 points, or 0.34%.

Most megacap and growth stocks swung higher in premarket trading, with Tesla TSLA.O leading gains with a 1.1% rise.

Big Tech was one of the biggest drivers on Wall Street this week. The information technology sector .SPLRCT was heading towards an 8% gain, a weekly jump echoing the surge seen when traders first seized on clear signals the White House was ready to dial back its trade hostilities with Beijing.

"While risks remain, the markets are moving away from their worst-case scenario and probably extrapolating this into a lower likelihood of reciprocal tariffs being reinstated for the rest of the world," Societe Generale said.

Vistra VST.N jumped 5.5% after the utility said it would acquire seven natural gas generation facilities, with a combined capacity of nearly 2,600 megawatt, from Lotus Infrastructure Partners for $1.9 billion.

Estee Lauder EL.N advanced 4.4% after Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management bought shares in the cosmetics company.

Shares of UnitedHealth UNH.N rose 2.4% after a near 11% drop in the last session, when the stock was rocked after a report the U.S. Department of Justice had begun a criminal investigation into the insurer.

Applied Materials AMAT.O slipped 5% after the chipmaking equipment maker missed estimates for second-quarter revenue.

Charter Communications CHTR.O rose 9.8% after the media company said it would merge with Cox Communications in a deal that would value the privately held firm at about $34.5 billion.