(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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Home Depot ( HD ) falls on downbeat annual same-store sales

growth

forecast

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Zoom Communications ( ZM ) slips on bleak revenue outlook

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Conference Board's gauge of consumer confidence due at 10

a.m.

ET

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Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 down 0.05%, Nasdaq down 0.2%

(Updates with analyst comment, Home Depot ( HD ) results)

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Feb 25 (Reuters) -

U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Tuesday after chip

and megacap stocks lagged, with AI leader Nvidia ( NVDA ) down a day

before its quarterly results, as investor concerns over the

Trump administration's trade policies dampened market sentiment.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) fell 0.7% in premarket trading after a

report that the U.S. was planning further restrictions on the

company's chip exports to China.

The report also said Washington was consulting with

allies including Japan and the Netherlands about tightening chip

controls over China.

At 07:10 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were mostly

unchanged, S&P 500 E-minis were down 2.75 points, or

0.05% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 43 points, or

0.2%.

"A lot of people are wondering about what capacity China

actually has even without these chips being bought from U.S.

companies, when you look at what DeepSeek was able to do," said

Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

"Clearly, Donald Trump wants to make sure that the

United States stays ahead in the AI game, but there will be some

casualties in terms of (the) cash that these big companies can

make."

Other semiconductor stocks in the red included Broadcom ( AVGO )

, which was down 0.2%, and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD )

, which lost 0.4%. Chip-gear maker Lam Research ( LRCX )

fell 1.3%.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results on Wednesday will be key for technology

companies as investors question the industry's hefty

artificial-intelligence spends after low-cost competition from

China's DeepSeek rattled markets in January. The S&P 500

technology sector is on track for its first quarterly

decline since July 2023, if losses hold.

Megacaps such as Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Meta Platforms ( META )

were down 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

Tempering risk-taking, U.S. President Donald Trump said late

on Monday that tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports were "on

time and on schedule" ahead of the March 4 deadline.

The U.S. and China are already in a trade war and Trump

signed an order last week restricting Chinese investments in

strategic areas including semiconductors, artificial

intelligence, biotechnology and aerospace.

Along with the potential global impact of these levies,

investors are also wary of signs the domestic economy is

stalling and that the U.S. Federal Reserve is cautious about

cutting interest rates further.

Interest rate futures currently point to a cut of 25 basis

points in July and traders are pricing in another reduction

before the end of the year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The Conference Board's gauge for consumer confidence is due

at 10 a.m. ET, days after the University of Michigan's index

showed consumer sentiment was deteriorating.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said late on Monday

that the Fed needs more clarity on the total economic impact of

the Trump administration's new policies before it can act.

Policymaker Thomas Barkin and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision

Michael Barr are expected to speak through the day.

Crypto stocks also fell, with Coinbase down

4.3% and MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) down 4.6%, tracking bitcoin

prices, which touched a more than three-month low.

Zoom Communications ( ZM ) lost 3.5% after forecasting

annual revenue below estimates, while U.S.-listed shares of Li

Auto jumped 14.1% after it unveiled its first electric

SUV.

Home Depot ( HD ) fell 1.7% after the home-improvement chain

forecast annual same-store sales growth below analysts'

estimates.