March 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures struggled for direction on Friday after hotter-than-expected inflation data roiled rate-sensitive stocks in the previous session, leaving investors on edge ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week.
Indexes closed lower on Thursday after producer prices data was stronger than expected, adding to concerns around inflation and sending the yield on the 10-year note to a two-week high.
Traders reined in bets of a June rate cut by the Fed to 60% from 73% last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, on worries that higher inflation would put the central bank under increased pressure to keep interest rates elevated.
All eyes are now on next week's Federal Reserve meeting for possible hints on the timing of the central bank's rate-easing cycle.
"(People are looking for) more of the conversation that comes out of the Fed meeting indicating the probability of rate cuts this year, and then the subsequent release of the dot plots around where the Fed is expecting the future path of interest rates to go," said Russell Hackmann, president at Hackmann Wealth Partners.
Friday also marked the simultaneous expiry of quarterly derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures, also known as "triple witching".
At 8:30 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 60 points, or 0.15%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 4 points, or 0.08%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 12.75 points, or 0.07%.
Semiconductor stocks (.SOX), opens new tab fell in the previous session and were on track to snap their three-week winning streak as investors took profits. The global GTC developer conference from March 18 to 21 will be watched closely for AI-related announcements.
Micron Technology (MU.O), opens new tab rose 2.6% in premarket trading after brokerage Citi raised its price target on the company to $150, the highest on Wall Street for the chipmaker, according to LSEG data.
Most other chipmakers edged lower in trading before the bell.
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL.O), opens new tab jumped 24.4% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its drug for a fatty liver disease known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.
Adobe (ADBE.O), opens new tab shed 11.4% after it forecast second-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates, following stiff competition and weak demand for its AI-integrated photography, illustration and video.
Ulta Beauty (ULTA.O), opens new tab slid 7.5% after forecasting full-year profit below Wall Street estimates, as elevated supply-chain costs and increased promotions hurt its margins.
Crypto stocks such as MicroStrategy (MSTR.O), opens new tab, Marathon Digital (MARA.O), opens new tab and Coinbase Global (COIN.O), opens new tab eased between 2.8% and 4.5%, as bitcoin fell.
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Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai
