US STOCKS-Wall Street futures mixed as investors mull Fed rate cut, focus on data

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Futures: Dow off 0.02%, S&P 500 up 0.26%, Nasdaq up 0.47%

Nov 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were mixed in choppy trading on Monday, as investors weighed the likelihood of an imminent interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and scoured for data to get more clarity on the central bank's monetary policy trajectory.

Stocks hit a volatile patch this month as investors worried the AI boom might have turned into a potential bubble, while the prolonged U.S. government shutdown had left them with little economic data to gauge the health of the world's largest economy.

Dovish remarks from influential New York Fed President John Williams offered some respite on the policy front last week but was also a reflection on how divided policymakers were ahead of December's FOMC meeting.

Investors are pricing in a 75% chance the central bank will deliver a 25-basis-point interest rate cut next month, compared with 42% a week earlier, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

At 05:46 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 7 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17 points, or 0.26%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 115.25 points, or 0.47%.

CONSUMER RESILIENCE IN SPOTLIGHT AS HOLIDAY SEASON KICKS OFF

The focus this week will be on the health of the American consumer.

Retail sales and producer prices data for September is expected through the week ahead of the holiday shopping season that starts with the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, extending into Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Consumption patterns, the backbone of the American economy, will be scrutinized at a time when multiple companies announced layoffs, delayed official data pointed to rising unemployment and U.S. tariffs weighed on sentiment.

The National Retail Federal said it expected U.S. holiday sales to surpass $1 trillion for the first time. Last week, Walmart, the United States' largest retail chain, raised its annual forecasts in a signal of confidence heading into the end of the year. Shares of Walmart were up 0.2% in premarket trading.

Earnings from consumer-oriented companies including Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy (BBY), Abercrombie and Kohl's are expected later this week.

TECH VALUATION WORRIES PERSIST

Despite AI-bellwether Nvidia's (NVDA) strong forecast last week, ballooning valuations of the tech sector has plagued markets for much of this month. Adding to the gloom, popular investors also trimmed their stakes in the sector, while others have taken bearish positions.

Wall Street's main indexes are now on track for monthly declines in November, with the benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq set for their biggest monthly losses since expectations for U.S. tariff hikes sparked a selloff in March.

Among other movers, Bristol-Myers gained 3.8% after European rival Bayer unveiled positive late-stage data for its cardiovascular drug.

Cipher Mining (CIFR) and CleanSpark (CLSK) gained 4% each after J.P.Morgan turned bullish on the crypto miners.

In geopolitics, markets also monitored developments around plans to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)