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Crypto-related stocks drop as bitcoin falls

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Most chip stocks under pressure, Nvidia ( NVDA ) falls

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Futures down: Dow 0.18%, S&P 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.34%

(Updated at 7:00 a.m. ET/1100 GMT)

By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashwat Chauhan

March 19 (Reuters) -

Futures tracking Wall Street's main stock indexes were

marginally lower on Tuesday as investors refrained from making

big bets ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's March

policy meeting.

All three major stock indexes finished higher in the

previous session, with the Nasdaq bouncing back from two

successive small weekly losses as growth stocks such as Alphabet

and Tesla boosted the tech-heavy index.

Most megacap growth stocks were under pressure in premarket

trading.

Investor darling Nvidia ( NVDA ) weakened 1.2% after the

company unveiled the Blackwell B200, an AI chip it says is up to

30 times faster than its previous chip. Some investors suggested

the news was priced into the high-flying stock.

Fellow chipmaker AMD dipped 2.5%, while

semiconductor firms such as Marvell Technology ( MRVL ), Intel ( INTC )

and Broadcom ( AVGO ) also fell between 0.3% and 2.8%.

Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ), which makes AI-optimized

servers with Nvidia's ( NVDA ) chips, dropped 6.2% after the company

filed for a stock shelf offering of up to 2 million shares.

At 7:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 72

points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 14 points,

or 0.27%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 61.75 points,

or 0.34%.

All eyes are on U.S. central bankers who are expected to

hold rates steady at the end of their two-day meeting on

Wednesday.

But, investors are concerned that their new economic

projections may be a wild card, potentially signaling fewer

interest rate cuts and a later start to the policy easing cycle.

Robust inflation data has pushed traders to pull back bets

of the first rate cut coming in June to 55.2% from 71% at the

start of last week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

"With price rises still steamier than expected, signs of a

more watchful, wary Fed are likely to emerge from this meeting,"

said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves

Lansdown.

"However, the wave of exuberance is continuing among

investors still charged with enthusiasm about the seemingly

infinite possibilities that artificial intelligence will bring

to the corporate world."

Among other movers, crypto-exchange operator Coinbase Global ( COIN )

and miners Riot Platforms ( RIOT ) and Marathon Digital

Holdings ( MARA ) shed between 4.1% and 6.0%, tracking the sharp

slide in bitcoin.

Spire Global ( SPIR ) jumped 18.1% after the company

announced a collaboration with Nvidia ( NVDA ) for AI-driven weather

prediction.