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Futures: Dow down 0.01%, S&P 500 down 0.06%, Nasdaq down

0.2%

March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures struggled

for direction on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming

meeting that will be closely monitored for commentary from the

central bank on the potential economic ramifications of ongoing

tariff disputes.

The central bank's two-day rate-setting meeting starts later

in the day, and is set to conclude on Wednesday. Markets

anticipate it will maintain the status quo on interest rates,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

The Fed's updated economic projections will shed light on

policymakers' assessments of the Trump administration's policy

maneuvers.

"The changes that we do expect (from the central bank) are

in a pessimistic direction," said Ryan Wang, U.S. economist at

HSBC.

"The potential 'stagflationary' risks from tariffs and trade

policy uncertainty create a complication for the monetary policy

outlook".

President Donald Trump's tariffs have ignited a trade

skirmish with key U.S. trading partners, including swift

retaliatory tariffs.

Analysts noted U.S. equities entered oversold territory last

week.

At 05:47 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 3.5

points, or 0.06%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 39.75

points, or 0.2%, Dow E-minis were down 4 points, or

0.01%.

The S&P 500 plunged more than 10% from its February

high, confirming the bellwether index has been in a correction

since then.

The blue-chip Dow index hovered about 3% shy of a

correction, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq confirmed it is

in a correction on March 6.

Gold, often traded as a safe-haven asset, crossed $3,000 per

ounce for the first time last week, and hit yet another record

high earlier in the session.

U.S.-listed stocks of gold miners such as Barrick Gold

rose 1.8% and Gold Fields gained 2.7% in

premarket trading.

Some investors engaged in "dip buying," capitalizing on

discounted U.S. equities, and that has propelled all the three

major indexes up more than 2% each over the past two sessions.

Focus will also be on developments related to the

Ukraine-Russia war as Trump was scheduled to speak to Russian

President Vladimir Putin later in the day.