Futures higher as Trump set to unveil tax plan

[September 27, 2017]   By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Wednesday as the Trump administration prepared to unveil a new tax plan that could be a driver of economic growth.

* President Donald Trump will call for slashing tax rates on businesses and the wealthy as part of the new plan, which, if passed, would be his first significant legislative win since taking office in January.

* U.S. stocks have rallied since Trump's presidential victory last year mainly on hopes of lower taxes, higher infrastructure spending and looser regulation.

* The dollar rose to a one-month high against a basket of currencies <.DXY> on rising expectations of a third interest rate hike this year following comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen.

* Yellen said on Tuesday that it would be "imprudent" to keep rates on hold until U.S. inflation hit the 2 percent target.

* Traders now see an 81.4 percent chance of a December rate hike, compared with 71.4 percent a week ago, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

* Nike slipped 3.24 percent in premarket trading after the company posted its slowest quarterly sales growth in nearly seven years and said it expected a further drop in revenue from North America.

 Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Micron Technology jumped more than 5 percent after the company reported a better-than-expected profit and forecast results above estimates.

* A Commerce Department report is likely to show that durable goods orders rose 1 percent in August, after dropping 6.8 percent in July. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

* Fed Board Governor Lael Brainard and St. Louis Fed Chief James Bullard are expected to make appearances later in the day.

Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were up 13 points, or 0.06 percent, with 15,243 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were up 3.5 points, or 0.14 percent, with 125,749 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 13.5 points, or 0.23 percent, on volume of 24,774 contracts.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

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