US STOCKS-Futures slip ahead of Powell's testimony

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* Futures down: Dow 0.26%, S&P 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.30%

By Medha Singh
July 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday, as
investors eyed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks
later in the day for clues on the central bank's interest rate
policy direction.
Powell begins his two-day semi-annual monetary policy
testimony to Congress at 10 a.m. ET and comes when Wall Street's
three main indexes have retreated from their record closing
highs after a strong June jobs report on Friday tempered
expectations of a sharp rate cut this month.
"Equities across the globe are likely to hold their breath
as markets ponder whether Powell would confirm or downplay
expectations for a potential U.S. rate cut this month," FXTM
research analyst Lukman Otunuga wrote in a note.
"Given how financial markets remain extremely sensitive to
rate cut speculation, there is a lot at stake today with Powell
handed the mammoth task of pleasing investors without
overpromising."
Investors will also have another opportunity to gauge
policymakers' thinking when minutes from the Fed's latest policy
meeting will be released at 2 p.m. ET. While the central bank has left the door open to an interest
rate cut, market participants have fully priced in a reduction
at the July 30-31 meeting.
Bets of a more accommodative Fed had been a major driving
force that helped markets rebound from the slump in May, which
was triggered by escalating trade tensions after President
Donald Trump piled more pressure on China and threatened new
tariffs on Mexico.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond
US10YT=RR edged higher ahead of Powell's testimony and minutes
from the meeting. US/
The second-quarter earnings season starts in earnest next
week, but investors are on edge following warnings of the trade
war hurting corporate profits. S&P 500 companies are expected to
report a 0.2% dip in profits from a year earlier, according to
Refinitiv IBES data.
At 6:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 69 points,
or 0.26%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 8 points, or 0.27%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 23.75 points, or 0.3%.
The FAANG group of stocks lost some ground in premarket
trade. Facebook Inc FB.O , Apple Inc AAPL.O , Alphabet Inc
GOOGL.O , Netflix Inc NFLX.O and Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O were
down between 0.3% and 0.6%.
Tesla Inc's TSLA.O shares were up 0.8% after Bloomberg
reported that the company was preparing to boost output at its
electric car factory in Fremont, California, citing an internal
email.