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Wall Street ended the previous session slightly lower, with the
S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow coming off their best weekly
performance so far this year.
The spotlight remains locked on a crucial February reading of
the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the
Fed's preferred inflation gauge, due on Friday, when the U.S.
markets will be shut for the Good Friday holiday.
The index is expected to have risen 0.4% in February and 2.5% on
an annual basis. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food
and energy components, is estimated to have risen 0.3% last
month, which would keep the annual pace at 2.8%, as per
economists polled by Reuters.
A hot reading for the PCE index can potentially hamper market
optimism around early rate-cuts.
Wall Street rallied to fresh record highs last week when Fed
Chair Jerome Powell stated that recent high inflation readings
had not changed the underlying "story" of slowly easing price
pressures, and the central bank stayed on track for three
interest rate cuts this year.
Traders see an at least 70% chance that the Fed will begin its
easing cycle in June, as per the CME FedWatch tool, up from a
near 59% chance seen early last week.
Fed officials said on Monday they still had faith that U.S.
inflation will ease, but also acknowledged an increased sense of
caution around the debate.
The data calendar is relatively light on Tuesday, with March
consumer confidence and February durable goods readings due
later in the day.
Trading activity is expected to be light owing to the upcoming
long weekend break.
At 5:22 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 81 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500
e-minis were up 18 points, or 0.34%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were
up 91 points, or 0.49%.
Most megacap growth stocks edged higher in premarket trading,
with Tesla leading the charge, up 3.4%.
Chip stocks looked set to continue their strong run, with Micron
Technology rising 1.9% after hitting a record high in the last
session, while industry giant Nvidia gained 0.9%.
Trump Media & Technology group advanced 17.8% ahead of its first
day of trading after completing a reverse merger with a blank
check firm.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by
Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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