US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq futures hit record highs after Fed cuts rates; Intel soars

By Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures gained on Thursday, with those tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq at record highs a day after the U.S. central bank delivered a quarter-point interest rate cut, while Intel climbed after Nvidia decided to build a stake in the company.

Intel INTC.O jumped 31% in premarket trading after Nvidia NVDA.O said on Thursday that it will invest $5 billion, throwing its heft behind the struggling U.S. chip foundry, but stopped short of giving Intel a crucial manufacturing deal.

Nvidia was up 2.6%, bouncing back from Wednesday's declines when a report said Chinese tech firms might stop buying its chips.

Intel peer Advanced Micro Devices AMD.O slipped 2.9%.

Meanwhile, after the highly expected cut, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said that the softening jobs market was a priority for the central bank, indicating more reductions could follow at its October and December meetings.

Investors are pricing in 44.6 basis points in cuts by end-2025, implying nearly two quarter-point cuts, data compiled by LSEG showed.

Futures tied to the small-cap Russell 2000 index RTYc1 gained 1.6%, as these companies are likely to perform better in a low interest-rate environment.

"Powell referred to this as a 'risk management' cut, emphasizing this move as a form of insurance against growing signs of labor market weakness," said Jean Boivin, head of the BlackRock Investment Institute.

"Any future policy easing would be conditional on data supporting that a soft labor market is real and persistent."

At 07:12 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 311 points, or 0.67%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 57 points, or 0.86% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 283.5 points, or 1.18%.

Concerns around the independence of the Fed also seemed to fade as attempts by President Donald Trump's administration to fire Governor Lisa Cook were unsuccessful and Governor Stephen Miran, sworn in on Tuesday, was the only dissenter of the move, calling for a bigger 50 bps cut.

The Fed decision is expected to add to Wall Street's recent rally, where the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit intraday record highs in multiple sessions, boosted by monetary policy easing hopes and a revival of AI-linked stock.

The three indexes have gained so far in September - a month deemed bad for U.S. equities historically - where the S&P 500 has shed 1.4% on average since 2000, data compiled by LSEG showed.

A weekly reading of jobless claims is due before markets open.

Among stocks, CrowdStrike CRWD.O gained 6% after at least two brokerages raised their price target on the stock.

Nucor NUE.N slipped 3.8% after the steel company said it expected third-quarter profit to decrease across all its three operating segments.

Nike NKE.N was 1.9% higher after RBC upgraded the sportswear retailer to "outperform" from "sector perform".

Radian Group RDN.N rose 4.1% after the mortgage insurer said it will buy UK-based Lloyd's specialty insurer Inigo for $1.7 billion.