US STOCKS-Futures climb ahead of Fed Chair Powell's address

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* Powell address to begin at 9 am ET (1300 GMT)
* Mylan gains on agreement to supply Gilead's remdesivir
* Futures up: Dow 0.69%, S&P 0.67%, Nasdaq 0.85%

(Adds comment, details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh
May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on
Wednesday, after Wall Street's main indexes fell sharply in the
previous session, with markets also awaiting comments from
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell amid recent speculation
over negative interest rates.
Futures traders began pricing in the possibility of negative
rates last week and President Donald Trump piled pressure on the
Fed again on Tuesday, as the economy reels from the impact of
the coronavirus pandemic.
However, several members of the U.S. central bank have
recently said they do not see a need for borrowing costs, now
near zero, to move into negative territory. Powell's webcast
address is expected to start at 9 a.m. ET (1300 GMT).
"Powell will probably reaffirm that negative rates are not
on the cards, putting him on another collision course with the
President," said Raffi Boyadjian, senior investment analyst at
XM.
"Depending on how strongly Powell rejects the possibility of
negative rates, Wall Street looks vulnerable to sell offs."
Unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus actions as well
as hopes of an economic recovery have been vital in helping the
three main U.S. stock indexes rise about 30% from their March
lows.
However, the rally paused this week as a spike in cases in
Germany, South Korea and China and a warning from a top U.S.
health expert spurred worries of a second wave of coronavirus
infections as lockdowns are slowly lifted in several countries.
At 8:15 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 163 points, or
0.69%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 19.25 points, or 0.67%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 76.75 points, or 0.85%.
Generic drugmaker Mylan NV MYL.O rose 1.7% premarket after
it signed a licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc
GILD.O for Gilead's remdesivir drug, which recently received
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's emergency use
authorization to treat COVID-19 patients.