US STOCKS-Wall St set for lower open after economic data

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Updates before markets open

By Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were poised for a lower open on Thursday after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ended the previous session on a positive note, while investors assessed some of the last economic datasets ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting.

The Nasdaq soared past the 20,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday as the technology rally showed no signs of a halt, while the S&P 500 closed at its highest in nearly a week after an in-line inflation reading locked in a 25 basis point cut by the Fed at its Dec. 17-18 meeting.

Meanwhile, a Labor Department report showed producer prices rose 0.4% on a monthly basis in November, compared with estimates of a 0.2% rise as per economists polled by Reuters. On an annual basis, it increased 3% versus an estimated 2.6% rise.

"Those numbers are a little bit hotter than expectations and (are) on the heels of CPI," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments.

"(The Fed) is going to (cut rates) because it wants to stay on that path and would like to have rates be lower, but there's this risk about inflation."

Separately, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to 242,000 for the week ended Dec. 7, above estimates of 220,000.

Trader bets on the cut next week stand at over 98%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. They had risen after a jobs report on Friday that showed unemployment rose last month despite a surge in jobs growth.

However, bets also indicate expectations of a pause in January after several Fed officials last week urged caution over the pace of monetary policy easing as the economy remained resilient.

At 8:48 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 49 points, or 0.11%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 15.75 points, or 0.26% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 114 points, or 0.52%.

Most megacap and growth stocks trended lower, with Nvidia NVDA.O down 1%.

Wall Street's main indexes have set new record highs multiple times this year, thanks to a rally driven by heavyweight tech stocks that have exploited the euphoria around artificial intelligence and the Fed's interest rate cuts.

U.S. equities capped off a remarkable November after Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election on the prospects of business-friendly policies adding to corporate profits, and have kicked off December on a broadly positive note.

However, analysts say that the incoming administration's potential policies on tariffs could stoke fresh inflationary pressures.

Among significant premarket movers, Adobe ADBE.O slid 10.7% after the Photoshop maker forecast fiscal 2025 revenue below Wall Street expectations on Wednesday.

Chewy CHWY.N was off 3.2% after its top stakeholder announced a stock offering to reduce its stake in the pet products retailer.

Centene CNC.N gained 2.5% after the health insurer forecast a better-than-expected profit for 2025.

(Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

((Purvi.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com; Shashwat.Chauhan@thomsonreuters.com))