By Amruta Khandekar and Bansari Mayur Kamdar
(Reuters) - Wall Steet's main indexes were set to open higher on Thursday as a key inflation metric came in line with estimates, raising hopes of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve in the first half of the year.
A Commerce Department report showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, climbed 0.3% in January month-on-month, as expected. Prices rose 2.4% on a yearly basis, also matching estimates.
Traders added to bets that the Fed will cut interest rates in June after the PCE data.
Meanwhile, initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 24 stood at 215,000, greater than expectations of 210,000, according to economists polled by Reuters.
"(The data) should buoy investors' optimism that the economy is on strong footing ... the Fed has done a very substantial job in controlling inflation and if we are not currently enjoying a soft landing, it is soon to come," said Peter Andersen, founder of Andersen Capital Management in Boston.
Reports on consumer and producer prices earlier in February, which signaled sticky inflation as well as a guarded approach from Fed policymakers, had led investors to push back expectations of rate cuts to June.
At the beginning of this year, traders were betting on March as the starting point for the Fed's easing cycle.
Equities struggled to make headway this week ahead of the PCE data, given lack of any major market-moving catalysts.
Still, all three major Wall Street indexes are on track for their fourth straight monthly advance, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq in the lead, thanks to robust quarterly earnings and a stellar rally driven by optimism around artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday announced they had reached a deal for advancing the 12 annual bills that fund an array of federal programs for the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30, and could also avert government shutdowns on Saturday.
At 8:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 16 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 13 points, or 0.26%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 86.75 points, or 0.48%.
Snowflake slumped 22.8% in premarket trade after the cloud data analytics company forecast first-quarter product revenue below Wall Street estimates.
Shares of Paramount Global climbed 2.1% as the media conglomerate posted a surprise profit on streaming gains.
AMC Entertainment shed 8.4% after the theater chain posted a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss on higher distribution costs for Taylor Swift and Beyonce concert movies.
WW International slumped 26.1% after the weight-loss services firm disclosed Oprah Winfrey will exit its board later this year.
Major cryptocurrency firms such as Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Global and MicroStrategy rose 3.1% and 5.2%, respectively, as bitcoin continued its upward climb.
Software firm C3.ai jumped 17.1% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results.