US STOCKS-Nasdaq, S&P 500 futures tread higher in lead up to Fed meeting, AI conference

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Tesla rises after co to hike Model Y prices in Europe *

Alphabet up on report of talks to build Gemini AI into iPhone *

Nasdaq says issues impacting connectivity resolved *

Futures: S&P up 0.38%, Nasdaq up 0.76%, Dow down 0.08% (Updated at 7:00 a.m. ET/1100 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan March 18 (Reuters) -

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq gained on Monday ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting this week, where the central bank is expected to keep borrowing costs steady and provide cues on its monetary policy path for the year. Stronger-than-expected

inflation figures last week have prompted investors to rethink when and by how much policymakers will lower rates this year, with traders pulling back bets of a June rate cut to around 59% from 71% last Monday, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Nevertheless, Wall Street, led by optimism around artificial intelligence (AI), hit fresh all-time highs in March, before pulling back some gains last week. A hawkish tilt by the Fed in its policy meeting that concludes on Wednesday could further pressure the high-flying indexes.

"While the recent pullback in tech stocks may follow fears that the market has run too far and portfolios are too concentrated, we believe investors can find compelling diversification opportunities through the next AI leaders," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management. Investors eyed chipmaker Nvidia's GTC developer conference from March 18 to 21, which will be parsed for AI-related announcements. Shares of the AI giant rose 2.3% in premarket trading.

Peers Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices added 2.8% and 1.3%, respectively. Exchange operator Nasdaq said it has resolved an issue related to connectivity and stock orders after more than two hours.

At 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 30 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 19.5 points, or 0.38%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 136.5 points, or 0.76%. Most megacap growth and technology shares also advanced in trading before the bell.

Alphabet gained 4.4% after a media report that Apple is in talks to build Google's Gemini AI engine into the iPhone.

Tesla rose 2.8% after the electric carmaker said it would increase the price of its Model Y EVs in some European countries on March 22, by approximately 2,000 euros ($2,177) or its equivalent in local currencies.

U.S.-listed shares of Xpeng

climbed 6.2% on the company's plans to launch a cheaper EV brand amid fierce price competition. Boeing shed 1.0% after a media report that a federal grand jury in Seattle issued a subpoena to the planemaker over the Jan. 5 midair blowout of a Boeing door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)