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Futures down: Dow 0.45%, S&P 500 0.44%, Nasdaq 0.45%

March 17 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures took a hit

on Monday as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's comments added

to unease about an economic slowdown, while focus was on

tariff-related signals from the Federal Reserve's upcoming

meeting.

In a Sunday interview with NBC, Bessent warned that there

are "no guarantees" the United States will escape a recession.

His remarks heightened existing anxieties about the

possibility of an economic downturn in the world's largest

economy. President Donald Trump's tariff policies have

intensified fears of a trade war-induced recession.

Trump has made it clear there will be no exemptions for

steel and aluminum tariffs, with reciprocal and sectoral tariffs

poised to take effect on April 2.

The Fed's rate decision is slated for Wednesday, with market

expectations firmly anticipating that the U.S. central bank will

maintain current interest rates, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

All eyes will be on any indications from the Fed regarding

economic growth caution or rising inflation concerns.

"FOMC participants will have to rethink their projections

now that the first tariffs have taken effect and the White House

looks set to eventually impose larger tariffs," Goldman Sachs

analysts said.

At 05:34 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 187 points,

or 0.45%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 24.75 points, or

0.44%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 87.75 points, or

0.45%.

Futures tracking the more domestically focused small-cap

Russell 2000 index lost 0.6%.

Last week, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

marked their fourth consecutive weekly declines, with the Dow

also experiencing a weekly drop.

The blue-chip Dow is teetering on the brink of a

correction, hovering about 2% away and down roughly 8% from its

all-time high.

The S&P 500 entered correction territory last week,

following Nasdaq on March 6.

However, two encouraging inflation reports offered some

respite from last week's widespread Wall Street selloff.

That led to "dip buying" on Friday, propelling the S&P 500

and the Nasdaq to their most significant one-day percentage gain

since November 6.

Megacap stocks slipped in premarket trade on Monday, with

Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) losing 0.7% and 0.3%,

respectively, while Tesla fell 1.8%.

Focus will be on February's retail sales report and the

monthly New York Fed manufacturing data, both scheduled for

08:30 a.m. ET.

Eyes will also be on developments related to the

Ukraine-Russia war, as Trump planned to speak to Russian

President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.