US STOCKS-US stock futures rise as Micron results boost chips; GDP data in focus

By Kanchana Chakravarty and Nikhil Sharma

June 26 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Thursday, putting Wall Street on track to open near record highs, as robust earnings from memory-chip maker Micron fueled optimism around artificial intelligence while investors awaited economic growth data.

The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX and tech-led Nasdaq .IXIC were nearly 1% below their all-time peaks at Wednesday's close, supported by the de-escalation in Middle East hostilities.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to hold talks with Iran next week to seek a commitment on Tehran ending its nuclear ambitions, which were the catalyst for Israel's attacks earlier this month.

Chipmakers tracked a 2% premarket rise in Micron Technology shares MU.O after the company forecast quarterly revenue above estimates, citing growth in demand for its chips used in AI data centers.

Shares of Marvell Technology MRVL.O and Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O climbed 2% and 2.4%. Nvidia NVDA.O rose 1.1% after scaling a fresh all-time high on Wednesday.

Investors also weighed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks during his two-day congressional testimony, where he reiterated a wait-and-see approach toward interest rate cuts.

Powell "maintaining a cautious stance is understandable, particularly when you've still got uncertainty around these trade tariffs while the negotiation period is going on," said Daniel Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell.

Trump has intensified his attacks on Powell for not cutting rates sooner. On Wednesday, the president labeled Powell as "terrible", saying he had narrowed down his choice to three or four candidates to potentially replace the Federal Reserve Chair.

The move could affect the central bank's independence at a time when policymakers are striving to balance the risk of slowing growth and higher inflation, as Trump's wide-ranging tariffs and geopolitical turmoil threaten to drive up prices in the short-term.

Traders are pricing in about 63 basis points worth of rate cuts by the end of 2025, with expectations for the first cut to be seen in September. 0#FEDWATCH

For the day, the focus is on the Commerce Department's final take on first-quarter GDP, as well as durable goods data for May and initial jobless claims data, all due at 08:30 a.m. ET.

At 07:04 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 116 points, or 0.27% and S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 19.5 points, or 0.32%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 96.5 points, or 0.43%.

Shares of sportswear company Nike NKE.N edged up 0.6% ahead of its quarterly results due before the opening bell.

Some of the central bank officials scheduled to speak later in the day include Fed Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, Fed Richmond President Thomas Barkin, Fed Cleveland President Beth Hammack, Fed Board Governor Michael Barr and Fed Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari.

On Friday, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report - the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation - will be scrutinized to ascertain tariff-induced price changes in the U.S. economy.