US STOCKS-Wall St set to open higher after Powell's remarks raise rate cut bets

* Benchmark U.S. Treasury bonds yields fall
* Futures up: Dow 0.42%, S&P 0.44%, Nasdaq 0.76%

(Changes comment, adds details; Updates prices)
By Medha Singh
July 10 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher on
Wednesday, as hopes of an interest rate cut later this month
were boosted by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's comment
that the central bank would "act as appropriate" to sustain
record U.S. growth.
In prepared remarks ahead of his two-day testimony to
Congress, Powell said overall growth has also "moderated," while
"there is a risk that weak inflation will be even more
persistent than we currently anticipate".
"I guess chairman Powell feels there is more downside risk
to the economy and the Fed needs to accommodate that," said Kim
Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.
Wall Street's three main indexes have retreated from last
week's record closing highs after a strong June jobs report on
Friday tempered expectations of a sharp rate cut this month.
While traders had all but abandoned bets of a 50 basis-point
reduction, Powell's comments pushed them 5% higher, CME Group's
FedWatch tool showed. Bets of the first U.S. rate cut since the
financial crisis stand close to 95% for the July 30-31 meeting.
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. The second-quarter earnings season starts in earnest next
week, but investors are on edge following warnings of the
U.S.-China 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 8:55 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 113 points, or
0.42%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 13.25 points, or 0.44%
and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 60 points, or 0.76%.
Shares of rate-sensitive lenders, including Goldman Sachs
GS.N , Bank of America Corp BAC.N and JPMorgan Chase & Co
JPM.N , fell between 0.2% and 0.7% in premarket trade as yields
on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond US10YT=RR dropped
after Powell's comments. US/