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Futures up: Dow 0.04%, S&P 500 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.47%

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) forecasts annual profit below estimates

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Spotify ( SPOT ) falls after forecasting Q3 profit below estimates

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Fed starts two-day meeting later in the day

(Updates with analyst comment, prices)

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

July 29 (Reuters) - S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures ticked

higher on Tuesday as investors assessed earnings reports from

some of the top U.S. companies, while Dow futures lost some

steam following a gloomy outlook from heavyweight UnitedHealth ( UNH ).

At 06:50 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17.75

points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 110.75

points, or 0.47%.

Dow E-minis rose 0.04%, but the gains were capped as

healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth ( UNH ) dropped 4.7% in

premarket trading following a disappointing profit forecast.

Meanwhile, out of 168 S&P 500 companies that have reported,

nearly 80% have beaten earnings expectations, according to

Friday's LSEG data. But caution lingers, as some of Wall

Street's giants feel the sting of U.S. President Donald Trump's

sweeping tariffs.

United Parcel Service ( UPS ) became the latest victim of

the tariffs, falling 4% after the delivery company reported

lower-than-expected second-quarter profit.

On Monday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq scored fresh record

closes amid volatile trading, buoyed by a U.S.-EU trade deal

that halved tariffs to 15% and stoked hopes of further global

agreements ahead of Trump's looming August 1 deadline.

The President has also floated a potential "world tariff" of

15-20% for non-negotiating countries.

U.S. and Chinese officials on Tuesday kicked off a second

day of high-stakes talks in Stockholm, aiming to cool tensions

and avert a deepening trade war between the world's two largest

economies. Negotiators are eyeing a possible 90-day extension to

the fragile tariff truce brokered in May.

Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT )

, Amazon ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL ) are scheduled for

later this week, which could test Wall Street's record run.

"The easiest gains (on Wall St) have now happened, and any

further rise is likely to happen much more slowly," said Thomas

Mathews, head of Markets at Capital Economics.

"The narrowness of the rally means it may depend especially

heavily on "big tech" profit results continuing to paint a

positive picture."

Spotify ( SPOT ) tumbled 6.5% after the company forecast

third-quarter profit below estimates.

The U.S. central bank is set to begin its two-day policy

meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave

rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze

policymakers' remarks to gauge the timing of future moves.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in a

61.7% chance of a rate cut in September.

The meetings come amid the White House's campaign on the

central bank to lower borrowing costs, including Trump's

persistent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and occasional

suggestions to remove him from his position.

Investors are now focused on the latest Job Openings and

Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and consumer confidence reports

for more clues on the U.S. economy, which continues to show

signs of labor market strength-even as some inflationary

pressures from tariffs begin to surface.

Analysts urge patience, as they await more data before

sounding any alarms.

Among other earnings-related moves, Cadence Design ( CDNS )

jumped 7.7% in premarket trading after the chip design software

provider raised its annual sales and profit forecast.

(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru;

Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)