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Futures down: Dow 0.23%, S&P 500 0.32%, Nasdaq 0.4%

April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on

Wednesday as investors braced for details of U.S. President

Donald Trump's tariff plans, which are expected to upend global

trade and commerce.

Wall Street's main indexes have swung between gains and

losses in recent days, with investors preferring to hold safer

assets such as gold and government bonds over risky equities, as

they speculated about the scope of tariffs and their impact on

the global economy, corporate earnings and inflation.

Details of Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff plans were still

being formulated and closely held ahead of a White House Rose

Garden announcement ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT).

Trump has said his reciprocal tariff plans are a move to

equalize generally lower U.S. tariff rates with those charged by

other countries. But the format of the duties was unclear amid

reports that Trump was considering a 20% universal tariff.

"Perhaps the most important question is whether this

announcement will tip the scales towards a global recession,"

said Oliver Blackbourn, portfolio manager at Janus Henderson

Investors.

"While we believe this is unlikely at present, it is

important to acknowledge that U.S. equities are relatively

expensive, which could make them more vulnerable to any negative

surprises."

By 5:33 a.m. ET, S&P 500 e-minis were down 18

points, or 0.32%. Nasdaq 100 e-minis fell 79 points, or

0.4%, and Dow e-minis dropped 99 points, or 0.23%.

U.S. stocks have come under sharp selling pressure this

year, with the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq

falling 10% from their record highs last month and

confirming a correction.

The S&P 500 shed 4.6% in the first quarter, its biggest

three-month decline since July 2022.

March U.S. private payrolls and factory orders data are

scheduled for release later in the day. However, focus is on the

crucial monthly non-farm payrolls data as well as Fed Chair

Jerome Powell's speech on Friday for insights on the health of

the U.S. economy and trajectory of interest rates.

Traders are betting on three rate cuts from the Fed this

year but the prospect of tariff-induced inflationary pressures

has clouded the outlook.

Among stocks, Tesla dipped 1.1% in premarket

trading ahead of its first-quarter deliveries numbers. The stock

has fallen 33.5% so far this year.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil

D'Silva)