WALL Street was set to open higher on Tuesday, supported by new gains in semiconductor and megacap technology stocks, as investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell for clues on the central bank's monetary policy path.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq looked on track to set fresh intraday records after both indexes edged up to close at record highs on Monday, lifted by gains in chip stocks and as the Philadelphia semiconductor index rose to a more than two-week high.
Intel shares leapt 2.6% in premarket trading, while AI-chip favorite Nvidia and Marvell Technology gained 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively.
Monday marked the 35th time this year the S&P 500 has set a fresh closing record, as sharp gains in AI-linked and other tech shares have kept equity sentiment bright, offsetting the uncertainty around the Fed's rate-cut plans.
Investors will scrutinize Powell's Congressional testimony later in the day to gauge the central bank's response to recent economic data pointing to a slowdown in the labor market, amid other signs of potential economic weakness.
The testimony, followed by questions from lawmakers, is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET. Powell will also testify at a House committee hearing on Wednesday.
"The ability for Powell to change the thinking of the market has been proved over the last six months as the market shifted from six rate cuts to one, and after the weaker data in the last two weeks, back to two," said Bob Savage, head of markets strategy and insights at BNY Mellon.
The last set of economic projections from the central bank's policymakers showed an expectation of just one rate cut this year. But markets have stuck to pricing in 50 basis points of easing, seeing a nearly 74% chance for a 25 bps cut at the Fed's September meeting, according to CME's FedWatch.
Those bets were at under 50% a month ago.
Meanwhile, rate-sensitive megacap stocks Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabet and Meta Platforms were up between 0.1% and 0.4%.
"The market is continuing on a bull run and, with the prospects of rate cuts, I believe may continue for a while," said WisdomTree senior economist Jeremy Siegel.
Crucial inflation data is also due this week, including Thursday's consumer price index and the producer price index reading on Friday.
Investors are also awaiting the start of the second-quarter corporate earnings season this week. PepsiCo edged 0.2% higher ahead of its results on Thursday.
Analysts, on average, see S&P 500 companies increasing their aggregate earnings per share by 10.1% in the second quarter, up from an 8.2% increase in the first quarter, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data.
At 8:43 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 4 points, or 0.01%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 53 points, or 0.26%.
Among single movers, Tempus AI jumped 3.2% after multiple brokerages including J.P.Morgan and Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the stock with bullish ratings.
Eli Lilly gained 1.4% after a data analysis report published on Monday showed its treatment Mounjaro leads to faster and greater weight loss than Novo Nordisk's obesity drug, Wegovy. - Reuters
