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Jackson Hole speech begins at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT)

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GM up after Cruise to offer robotaxis on Uber's ( UBER ) platform

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Workday jumps after Q2 revenue beat, $1 bln share buyback

plan

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Futures up: Dow 0.39%, S&P 500 0.53%, Nasdaq 0.78%

(Updated at 8:15 a.m. ET/ 1215 GMT)

By Medha Singh and Johann M Cherian

Aug 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set

to open higher on Friday ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve

Chair Jerome Powell that investors expect will offer hints on

the pace of rate cuts in the world's biggest economy.

While minutes from the Fed's July meeting this week showed a

number of policymakers were ready to consider rate cuts come

September, Powell's speech could offer insights on the pace of

easing and how the central bank will respond as the economy

evolves.

Powell is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT) at the

annual global gathering of central bank officials at the Jackson

Hole Economic Symposium in Wyoming.

Traders have fully priced in a scenario where the Fed begins

easing interest rates at its Sept. 17-18 meeting, with a 71.5%

chance of a 25-basis-point cut over a 50 bps cut, according to

CME Group's FedWatch tool.

"The market has been predicting the first rate cut to

start going back to March of this year and investors have been

disappointed multiple times," said Sam Stovall, chief investment

strategist at CFRA Research in New York.

"The only question is by how much and, unlike the sprinters

in the Olympics, the Fed will not explode out of the blocks with

a 50-basis-point cut."

Recent data including weekly jobless claims and payrolls

revisions signaled the U.S. economy was slowing, albeit

gradually, assuaging fears over a sharp downturn.

That has helped Wall Street's three main indexes recover

from a plunge earlier this month triggered by a dour July

employment report and yen carry trade. The S&P 500 is now

about 1.8% away from a record high touched in mid-July, after

falling as much as 9.7% from that level.

At 08:15 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 161 points,

or 0.39%, while S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.53%. Nasdaq 100

E-minis were up 153.25 points, or 0.78%.

Chip stocks such as Nvidia ( NVDA ), Broadcom ( AVGO ) and

Qualcomm ( QCOM ) climbed more than 1% each in trading before

the bell, rebounding from sharp losses in the previous session.

The Philadelphia chip index notched its biggest daily

drop in three weeks on Thursday.

Rate-sensitive growth stocks such as Apple ( AAPL ) climbed

0.7%, while Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Tesla rose about 1%

each, looking to bounce back from Thursday's losses.

Workday shares jumped 15% after the human resource

software provider beat market expectations for second-quarter

revenue and announced a $1 billion stock buyback plan.

Cruise will offer its autonomous vehicles on ride-hailing

platform Uber ( UBER ) starting next year, the companies said,

as the General Motors ( GM )-backed robotaxi firm attempts a

comeback, sending shares of the automaker up 1.1%.

Ross Stores ( ROST ) gained 5.7% after the discount retailer

raised its fiscal 2024 profit forecast.

Later in the day, data from the U.S. Commerce Department's

Census Bureau is expected to show new home sales steadied in

July after hitting a seven-month low in June.