By Ankika Biswas and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) -U.S. index futures slipped on Wednesday as investors exercised caution ahead of AI chip leader Nvidia's ( NVDA ) quarterly results and the Federal Reserve's policy meeting minutes due later in the day.

All eyes will be on whether semiconductor bellwether Nvidia's ( NVDA ) first-quarter results, due after market close, can meet sky-high expectations and sustain a rally in shares of the company and other AI-related stocks.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) has emerged as the third-largest U.S. company by market value after a more than 92% surge in its shares this year and an over three-fold jump in 2023.

"Despite the stock's incredible recent performance, there's tension in the market, with investors eager to see if Nvidia's ( NVDA ) impressive momentum from 2023 has carried into early 2024," said Sam North, analyst at investment platform eToro.

"We should note that the bar is set pretty high, and another double-digit beat and raise might be a tall order."

The company's shares were down 0.4% in premarket trading, after rising more than 3% over the past two days.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results will test the strength of Wall Street's recent bullish run that has carried all three major indexes to record highs this month, driven by a strong earnings season as well as renewed hopes for interest-rate cuts and a so-called soft landing for the U.S. economy.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the benchmark S&P 500 closed at fresh record highs on Tuesday.

Market participants are also keenly awaiting minutes from the U.S. central bank's latest policy meeting, due at 2 p.m. ET, for more clarity on the timing of a rate cut. Several policymakers have reiterated the need to wait for more signs of easing inflation before cutting rates.

Traders see near 69% odds of the Fed cutting rates in September by at least 25 basis points, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

At 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 43 points, or 0.11%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 7.5 points, or 0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 13.75 points, or 0.07%.

Shares of retailer Target dropped 8.1% on weak quarterly results and second-quarter forecasts for profit and comparable sales that were below expectations.

Apparel retailer Urban Outfitters climbed 5.8% after first-quarter results beat estimates on strong demand.

Lululemon Athletica dropped 4.3% after the athletic apparel retailer announced the departure of Chief Product Officer Sun Choe.

(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)