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Futures off: Dow 0.33%, S&P 500 0.34%, Nasdaq 0.41%

March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged

lower on Friday as market participants continued to grapple with

the ramifications of tariffs, with FedEx ( FDX ) being the latest

company to alter its full-year forecasts due to economic

uncertainty.

FedEx ( FDX ) saw a 7.1% drop in premarket trading, while

peer UPS slipped 1.3%.

Persistent anxieties that an ongoing global trade war could

upend the economy and squeeze corporate profitability have kept

investors cautious about riskier assets.

Markets await President Donald Trump's plans to implement

new reciprocal and sectoral tariffs that are expected in early

April.

Still, the benchmark S&P 500 index was set to log a 1.1%

gain, rising for the first time in five weeks. It was also on

track to snap its longest weekly losing streak in over a year.

The blue-chip Dow was set to log its best week in

over two months, if gains hold.

Investors found some solace in the Federal Reserve's recent

stance, which suggested that two 25 basis point rate cuts

remained plausible by year-end, following a decision to maintain

current borrowing costs on Wednesday.

Fed policymakers reiterated their expectation of a 50 basis

point rate reduction this year, abating some concerns that their

projection might be scaled back to a single 25-basis-point cut.

Nonetheless, the central bank also forecast slower economic

growth alongside a temporary uptick in inflation.

Market expectations are pricing in approximately 70 basis

points of rate cuts from the Fed this year, with a 70%

likelihood of a 25 basis point cut at the upcoming June meeting,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

By 5:55 a.m. ET, the U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down

19.25 points, or 0.34%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down

81.5 points, or 0.41%, and Dow E-minis were down 139

points, or 0.33%.

Nike ( NKE ) fell 5.6% after projecting a sharper decline in

fourth-quarter revenue than analysts had anticipated.

Growth stocks, which bore the brunt of the recent market

rout, slipped. Meta and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) fell 0.3%

each, while Nvidia ( NVDA ) dropped 1.1%.

Investors will closely monitor insights from the Federal

Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams during his

keynote address at 9:05 a.m. ET, as well as Chicago President

Austan Goolsbee's interview on CNBC at 8:30 a.m. ET.

On the flipside, the tech-heavy Nasdaq faced the prospect of

recording its longest weekly losing streak in nearly three

years.

This week was characterized by global central bank

policymakers adopting a cautious tone, underscoring the

unpredictable economic outlook attributed to escalating trade

tensions.

Friday's session also marks the simultaneous expiry of

quarterly derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options

and futures, also known as "triple witching".