US STOCKS-Wall St gears up for rally after Fed kicks off easing cycle

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BofA expects Fed to go for 75-bp cut in Q4

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US big banks rise after Fed's jumbo rate cut

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Weekly jobless claims stand at 219,000

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Futures up: Dow 1.13%, S&P 500 1.58%, Nasdaq 2.14%

(Updated at 8:36 a.m. ET/1236 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to rally on Thursday, with the benchmark S&P 500 poised to notch a record high after the Federal Reserve kicked off its easing cycle with half-a-percentage point reduction and forecast more cuts were on the horizon.

Rate-sensitive growth stocks that have led much of this year's rally such as Microsoft (MSFT) added 1.6%, while Meta and Alphabet advanced 2.4% each in premarket trading.

Semiconductor stocks also climbed. Nvidia (NVDA) rose 3.3%, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gained 3.6% and Broadcom (AVGO) added 3.8% with the broader market.

Futures tracking the domestically focused Russell 2000 index shot up 2.7% to touch levels last seen on July 31.

A lower interest environment could mean prospects of lower operating costs and greater profits for credit-dependent companies.

At 08:36 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 470 points, or 1.13%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 89.75 points, or 1.58% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 418.75 points, or 2.14%.

After delivering its super-sized verdict on Thursday, the Fed forecast rates to fall by another 50 bps by year-end. The central bank also unveiled macroeconomic projections that analysts say reflect a goldilocks scenario, where growth is steady and inflation and unemployment stay low.

On the data front, jobless claims for the week ended Sept. 14 stood at 219,000, lower than economists' estimates of 230,000.

"There's a delayed reaction to the Fed's rate cut ... the claims came in low, so it's only going to help fuel the idea that a soft landing is in play," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird.

"The guidance for plenty more cuts by the end of 2025 should open up (rate sensitive) sectors to reengage and expand."

Traders now see a 66.4% chance that the central bank will lower interest rates by 25 basis points at its November meeting, as per the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

BofA Global Research now anticipates a total of 75 bps rate cuts by the end of this year, compared with 50 bps forecast earlier. Citigroup (C/PN) revised its rate-cut expectations for December to a smaller 25 bps, from a forecast of a bigger move.

Goldman Sachs now expects consecutive 25 bps cuts from November 2024 through June 2025.

Market reaction in the aftermath of the decision was muted, with all the three indexes closing slightly lower in the previous session.

However, data going back to 1970 from Evercore ISI showed the S&P 500 has posted an average 14% gain in the six months following the first reduction of a rate-cutting cycle.

September has generally been a disappointing month for U.S. equities with the S&P 500 notching an average loss of 1.2% since 1928. The benchmark index has logged losses so far this month.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM) added 1.3%, Bank of America (BAC) climbed 1.5% and Wells Fargo (WFC) advanced 1.8% after the big banks lowered their respective prime rates. Citigroup (C/PN) also rose 1.9% after cutting its base lending rate.

Progyny (PGNY) was among a few stocks that traded lower. The fertility benefits management firm plunged 24% after a significant client notified the company it had elected to exercise a 90-day option to terminate its services agreement.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Maju Samuel)