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* UnitedHealth gains on Q1 profit beat
* Fed Chair Jerome Powell to speak at 1:15 pm ET
* Futures up: Dow 0.54%, S&P 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.09%
April 16 (Reuters) -
Wall Street's main stock indexes were on track for a higher open on Tuesday, with health insurers leading the charge following upbeat results from industry major UnitedHealth, while investors kept tabs on the conflict in the Middle East.
Dow Component UnitedHealth Group advanced 7.8% in premarket trading after the health insurer beat expectations for first-quarter adjusted profit.
Other health insurers such as Humana, CVS Health and Centene gained between 2.7% and 4.6%.
Financial firms were also in the spotlight, with Bank of New York Mellon advancing 2.0% after the lender beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter results.
Morgan Stanley
added 3.6% after beating first quarter profit estimates, fueled by a resurgence in investment banking.
"The early morning earnings reports were good. But more than that, the market is just searching for a bottom from its recent sell off," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments.
"The broader market rally was really tied to a view of lower rates. And at least for now, that seems to be gone and there's more individual stock picking based on results more than just index buying."
Meanwhile, Israel's war cabinet was set to meet for the third time in three days, an official said, to decide on a response to Iran's first-ever direct attack, amid international pressure to avoid further escalation in conflicts in the Middle East.
The yield on the 10-year government bond last stood at 4.6468% a day after data showed U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in March amid a surge in receipts at online retailers. This was further evidence that the economy had ended the first quarter on solid ground.
Several policymakers including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are slated to speak later in the day, and investors will be watching for clues on where the central bank stands on policy easing.
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said on Monday that with the economy and the labor market strong and inflation still above the Fed's 2% target, there was "no urgency" to cut U.S. interest rates.
Traders see an about 49% chance of the Fed kicking off its easing cycle in July, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Among other earnings, Johnson & Johnson slipped 0.7% as the drugmaker's first-quarter revenue missed analysts' estimates after sales from its blockbuster psoriasis drug, Stelara, fell short of expectations.
U.S. equities have sold off recently as investors sharply readjusted their expectations of how much the Fed would cut rates this year, with bets now showing only 43 basis points of expected easing, according to LSEG data. This is down from about 150 bps seen at the start of the year.
At 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 204 points, or 0.54%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 7.25 points, or 0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 16 points, or 0.09%.
Tesla shed 2.1% after falling over 5% in the last session, when an internal memo seen by Reuters showed the EV marker was laying off more than 10% of its global workforce. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Maju Samuel)
