US STOCKS-Futures push higher on rate cut optimism

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* Futures up: Dow 0.31%, S&P 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.26%

By Amy Caren Daniel
July 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose slightly
on Friday, with Wall Street looking set to extend this week's
strong run after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's dovish
remarks boosted bets of an interest rate cut this month.
In his two-day testimony before Congress, Powell said the
U.S. economy was still under threat from disappointing factory
activity, tame inflation and a simmering trade war and that the
Fed stood ready to "act as appropriate."
"Jerome Powell spoke in Washington DC on Wednesday and
Thursday, and the take away message is the U.S. central bank is
considering cutting interest rates, and that is helping stocks
around the world," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC
Markets in UK.
The S&P 500 index .SPX traded above the 3,000 level for a
second day in a row on Thursday, with stronger-than-expected
U.S. inflation data failing to shake expectations of a rate cut.
Keeping investors on edge was uncertainty on U.S.-China
trade. In the latest evidence that the trade dispute was
impacting growth, data showed that China's exports fell in June
and imports shrank more than expected. Meanwhile, China threatened sanctions on U.S. firms that
sell arms to Taiwan after Washington approved possible sales of
$2.2 billion in tanks, missiles and related equipment.
U.S. Treasury yields ticked higher, extending Thursday's
gains after an auction of $16 billion 30-year bonds saw weak
demand. US/
Morgan Stanley MS.N , JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM.N , Goldman
Sachs Group GS.N rose between 0.5% and 1% in premarket
trading. The shares were also boosted after Citigroup raised
price targets for the lenders ahead of earnings next week.
At 7:10 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 83 points, or
0.31%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 6.5 points, or 0.22% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 20.75 points, or 0.26%.
Second-quarter earnings season start next week against the
backdrop of warnings of the trade war hurting corporate profits.
S&P 500 companies are expected to report a 0.4% dip in profits
from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Also on the radar is another set of inflation data. The
Labor Department's report on underlying U.S. producer prices at
8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show producer price index final
demand remained flat in June, compared with a 0.1% gain in May.
Among other stocks, gene sequencing company Illumina Inc
ILMN.O tumbled 16.1% after its preliminary second-quarter
revenue came in below estimates. Ford Motor Co F.N rose 0.7% after Reuters reported that
the automaker's self-driving unit Argo was set to get a $2.6
billion investment from Volkswagen AG VOWG_p.DE .