US STOCKS-Wall St eyes higher open as growth stocks rise, higher yields weigh

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Tesla gains after Musk says will unveil Robotaxi in August

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Crypto stocks track bitcoin prices higher

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Futures up: Dow 0.10%, S&P 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.19%

(Updated at 8:42 a.m. ET/ 1242 GMT)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A

April 8 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were set for a slightly higher open on Monday as some megacap stocks edged up, although gains were kept in check after Treasury yields rose on rising bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve could delay rate cuts this year.

Hawkish commentary from central bank officials last week and stronger-than-expected manufacturing and jobs reports pointed to a resilient U.S. economy, easing pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates quickly.

U.S. stocks recorded weekly losses on Friday as traders scaled back expectations of a June rate cut. They now see an around 51% chance of the Fed announcing its first rate cut this year in June, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, down from about 58% at the beginning of last week.

The market has also pared back expectations for more than three rate cuts this year, from three to four a few weeks ago, according to LSEG data.

"A lot of people are trying to be overly optimistic with a Fed rate cut. It kind of doesn't make sense," said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors Inc.

"We've seen economic numbers over the past few weeks. It's not hot but it's still running strong. So why would you really want to cut rates?"

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose 4.4561%, the highest level since last November, putting equities under pressure.

Investors will await commentary from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and his Minneapolis counterpart Neel Kashkari later in the day for further policy cues.

The focus will also be on the March reading of the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI), due later in the week, that is expected to show a rise in headline inflation to 3.4% year-on-year, from 3.2% in February.

Also on the radar is the release of minutes from the Fed's latest meeting, in which it stuck to its guidance of three rate cuts this year.

First-quarter earnings season picks up pace now, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo scheduled to report towards the end of the week.

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo raised its year-end target for the benchmark S&P 500 index to 5,535 - the highest among Wall Street brokerages - from its previous forecast of 4,625​.

At 8:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 41 points, or 0.10%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 7 points, or 0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 34.5 points, or 0.19%.

Some megacap growth stocks rose in premarket trading, with Amazon.com, Nvidia and Meta Platforms up between 0.2% and 1.4%.

Tesla rose 2.5% in trading before the bell after CEO Elon Musk said the company would unveil the Robotaxi on Aug. 8.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks advanced, tracking rising bitcoin prices. Exchange operator Coinbase Global, crypto miner Marathon Digital and software firm MicroStrategy added between 5.4% and 6.6%.

U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) gained 2.3% after the U.S. Commerce Department said it would award the company's U.S. unit a $6.6 billion subsidy for advanced semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Pooja Desai)