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Futures down: Dow 0.04%, S&P 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.16%

March 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures ticked

lower on Wednesday as investors awaited the conclusion of the

Federal Reserve's meeting where the central bank is expected to

keep borrowing costs unchanged and provide cues on its monetary

policy trajectory.

The U.S. central bankers conclude their two-day meeting

later in the day. Focus will be on the Fed's policy statement,

updated economic projections and Chair Jerome Powell's press

conference.

Wall Street rallied to all-time highs this month supported

by optimism around artificial intelligence, but has since

retreated a little after reports showing robust inflation

dampened hopes of the Fed kicking off its interest rate-easing

cycle soon.

Traders pulled back bets for a June rate cut to 64% from 71%

at the start of last week, according to CME FedWatch data.

"Given the recent uptick in inflation, strong economic

growth, healthy jobs market and robust earnings, we could see

some Fed members plot fewer rate cuts for the year ... could

tilt the median forecast to two rate cuts this year from three

plotted in December," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior market

analyst at Swissquote Bank.

At 05:08 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 16 points,

or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 6.75 points, or

0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 28.75 points, or

0.16%.

Most megacap growth stocks inched lower in premarket

trading, while Tesla gained 0.7% after confirming to

Reuters it will raise the price of China-produced Model Y

vehicles by 5,000 yuan ($694.55) from April 1.

Nvidia ( NVDA ), the chipmaker at the center of Wall

Street's AI euphoria, dipped 0.5% after closing higher in the

previous session on revealing pricing and shipment plans for its

hotly anticipated Blackwell B200 chip.

The Biden administration said it is awarding Intel ( INTC )

nearly $20 billion in grants and loans, lifting shares of the

chipmaker up 2.9%.

Nasdaq's shares fell 3.9% after the exchange

operator said Borse Dubai will sell shares worth $1.6 billion in

the company, reducing its stake to 10.8% from 15.5%.

Wells Fargo ( WFC ) shed 1.2% after Citi downgraded its

rating on the lender to "neutral" from "buy".