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Futures off: Dow 0.05%, S&P 500 0.11%, Nasdaq 0.20%

March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures declined

on Thursday as investors closely monitored a stopgap government

funding bill amid escalating slowdown fears driven by President

Donald Trump's chaotic tariff policies.

A funding bill in the U.S. Senate that will keep the

government running through September 30 is now in focus, with

one day to go before a partial shutdown.

The Republican-controlled House passed the bill earlier in

the week. However, Democrats in the Senate called for a

one-month extension of existing spending, buying time to

complete more comprehensive appropriations bills for the year.

"The proposed alternative is an interim funding plan until

11 April: that would simply postpone a key risk for markets,

hence the negative reaction in stock futures," analysts at ING

research said in a note.

Steep losses plagued Wall Street earlier in the week as

Trump triggered a tit-for-tat trade war with allies that could

stoke domestic inflation and trigger an economic slowdown.

Trump's fluctuating policies have rattled investors, with

brokerages downgrading their outlook for U.S. equities and

multiple companies issuing downbeat forecasts.

American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) was the latest retailer to

forecast annual revenue below expectations, sending shares of

the apparel maker down 9.9% in premarket trading.

All three main indexes have seen their post-election gains

being wiped out. The benchmark S&P 500 nearly confirmed a

10% correction drop on Tuesday from its record high.

In his latest tariff threat, Trump said he would impose

additional penalties on European Union imports if the EU enacts

retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods next month.

At 05:44 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 19 points,

or 0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 6.25 points, or

0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 39.75 points, or

0.20%.

Signs of cooling consumer inflation provided investors with

some reprieve in the previous session. Their focus will now also

be on February Producer Price Index data, which is due to be

released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The core figure, including some components that feed into

the U.S. Federal Reserve's preferred Personal Consumption

Expenditure index, is expected to have increased 3.5% in

February, compared with a 3.6% rise in the prior month.

A weekly report on jobless claims is also on tap later in

the day.

Investors expect the central bank to leave policy rates

unchanged when it meets next week, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

Among other stocks, Intel ( INTC ) jumped 9.9% after the

troubled chipmaker appointed industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan its

chief executive officer.

Adobe dropped 4.6% after the Photoshop-maker

forecast quarterly revenue in line with estimates, grappling

with slower monetization of its artificial-intelligence

offerings and tough competition from startups.

SentinelOne ( S ) lost 13.6% after the cybersecurity company

forecast its first-quarter and annual revenue below Street

estimates.

Shares of truck- and parts-makers such as Paccar ( PCAR )

and Cummins fell 5.3% and 2.6%, respectively, after the

Environmental Protection Agency launched efforts to undo the

previous administration's vehicle-emissions rules.