US STOCKS-Wall St futures rise in run-up to inflation data; Micron gains

By Johann M Cherian and Shashwat Chauhan

Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures gained on Thursday ahead of a key inflation report that could offer insight into the impact of tariffs on price pressures, while chipmaker Micron's blowout forecast briefly assuaged worries about tech sector valuations.

A report from the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show consumer prices likely increased by the most in 1-1/2 years in the year to November, which would underscore worsening affordability challenges due to U.S. tariffs on imports.

However, the data could also risk being distorted by the recent government shutdown, similar to the official jobs report that was released earlier this week. A more reliable figure would be the jobless claims data for the week ended December 13 expected later in the day.

"While the Fed seems to be more focused on the labor market, there is a large segment within the FOMC that is still very concerned about inflation. An upside surprise could further make the case for a skip in January," TD Securities analysts said in a note.

Traders currently expect at least 50 basis points worth of monetary policy easing next year, according to data compiled by LSEG, amid hopes that a dovish Fed chair will replace Jerome Powell in 2026.

Thursday's data comes at a time when inflation expectations have had traders price in rate hikes in other developed economies. Central bank decisions out of Europe and the UK will particularly be scrutinized later in the day.

At 07:08 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 116 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 32.75 points, or 0.49% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 209.5 points, or 0.85%.

A standout in pre-market trading was Micron Technology MU.O, which rose 12.6% after forecasting quarterly profit at nearly double what analysts were expecting, as prices for memory chips soar amid tight supplies and booming demand from artificial intelligence data centers.

Other memory companies including SanDisk SNDK.O rose 8.4% and Western Digital WDC.O gained 4.8%, while chip giant Nvidia NVDA.O advanced 1.3%.

Investors were recoiling from a selloff on Wednesday when uncertainty earlier in the day over Oracle's ORCL.N funding plans for a Stargate data center sent the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC to three-week lows. The cloud company's shares edged up 0.9% on Thursday.

Still, the reprieve from Micron's earnings is likely to be brief as traders scour for clarity on how corporates are monetizing AI.

The benchmark and tech-heavy indexes are now on track for their biggest two-week loss since tariff concerns sparked a rout in global markets between late March and early April.

Among others, Lululemon LULU.O gained 6.7% pre-market as a report said activist investor Elliott has acquired more than a $1 billion stake in the athletic-wear company.

Birkenstock BIRK.N lost 7.1% after the footwear maker's annual profit forecast missed estimates.

Trump Media & Technology DJT.O jumped 20% after the company and fusion power company TAE Technologies said they have agreed to combine in an all-stock deal valued at more than $6 billion.

Investors will watch recently soaring cannabis companies as Trump is expected to address potential easing of marijuana regulations on Thursday. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF MSOS.P was last up 6.6%.