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Moderna ( MRNA ) up as COVID-flu combo vaccine superior to separate

shots

*

Southwest ( LUV ) jumps after report Elliott builds nearly $2 bln

stake

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Diamond Offshore ( DO ) rises on $1.59 bln acquisition deal from

Noble

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Futures off: Dow 0.20%, S&P 0.12%, Nasdaq 0.07%

(Updated at 7:07 a.m. ET/11:07 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Johann M Cherian

June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower

on Monday as investors moved to the sidelines ahead of key

inflation data and a Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for this

week, awaiting clues on the central bank's policy-easing stance

this year.

Indexes had closed slightly lower on Friday after

conflicting May data last week showed that Nonfarm Payrolls

numbers were stronger than expected, unemployment had ticked

higher and household surveys revealed signs of weakness in the

economy.

Markets dialed back expectations for interest-rate cuts by

the Federal Reserve in September after Friday's data, with

pricing now reflecting a less-than-50% chance of a reduction.

Expectations had risen as high as 69% last week.

Interest-rate traders also trimmed expectations for the

amount of easing this year, with pricing implying just one cut

versus two prior to the payrolls data, according to LSEG data.

Despite the back-and-forth on a rate reduction, all three

major indexes ended the last week higher, with the Nasdaq

gaining 2.38%, the S&P 500 up 1.32% and the Dow

adding 0.29%.

Weekly gains were led by a nearly 4% rise in the S&P 500's

information technology sector, which spearheaded

recent Wall Street's rallies after stocks such as chipmaker

Nvidia's ( NVDA ), seen as a strong AI bet, soared.

Attention now turns to the Consumer Price Index inflation

data for May and the conclusion of the Fed's two-day policy

meeting, scheduled on Wednesday, when the central bank is

overwhelmingly expected to hold rates steady.

"The main focus will be their updated dot plot... with

inflation having remained sticky and the latest jobs numbers

beating all expectations, we expect them to push their

projections for rate cuts back so they end up with two cuts in

2024 and four in 2025 instead of three and three," analysts at

ING said in a note.

J.P.Morgan said in a client note on Friday it now expects

the first rate cut in November, rather than July, as previously

anticipated.

Producer Price Index data for May and the first release of

the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey are also

due this week.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) was flat in premarket trading in the wake of

a 10-for-one stock split that went into effect after markets

closed on Friday.

At

7:07

a.m. ET, Dow e-minis

were down 76 points, or 0.2

0

%

, S&P 500 e-minis

were down 6.25 points, or 0.12%

, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis

were down 13.75 points, or 0.07%

.

Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) jumped 6.9% after a report that

activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built up a

nearly $2 billion dollar position in the company.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ), KKR & Co ( KKR ) and GoDaddy

rose between 2.9% and 7.7% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the

companies would be included in the S&P 500 as of June 24.

Diamond Offshore Drilling ( DO ) added

7.7

% after oilfield services firm Noble said it would

buy the smaller rival

in a $1.59 billion deal.

Moderna ( MRNA ) climbed

1.4

% as its combination vaccine against COVID-19 and influenza

generated a stronger immune response

in adults 50 and over in a late-stage trial, compared to

separate shots.

Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) dropped 2.3% after Morgan

Stanley downgraded the chip stock to "equal weight" from

"overweight".