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Futures down: Dow 0.31%, S&P 500 0.44%, Nasdaq 0.58%

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell to speak later in the day

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) down after report co under criminal probe

(Updates with analyst comment)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Pranav Kashyap

May 15 (Reuters) -

U.S. stock index futures slipped on Thursday as euphoria

from the U.S.-China tariff truce tapered off, while UnitedHealth ( UNH )

was pressured after a report of a DoJ investigation into the

health insurer.

Markets are also keenly awaiting commentary from Federal

Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is scheduled to speak later in

the day.

Meanwhile, retail behemoth Walmart's ( WMT ) shares rose

1.5% in premarket trading after it

beat estimates

for first-quarter U.S. comparable sales.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) dropped 5.9% after the Wall

Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was

conducting a criminal investigation into the health insurer for

possible Medicare fraud. The company said it had not been

informed of a criminal probe by federal prosecutors.

At 07:02 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 130 points,

or 0.31%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 26 points, or 0.44%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 125 points, or 0.58%.

Powell's upcoming remarks will be dissected,

particularly as several Fed officials suggested earlier this

week that policymakers might hold interest rates steady as the

U.S. central bank gauges how tariffs and ongoing trade

negotiations could ripple through prices and the broader

economy.

A spate of economic data, including April's producer prices

and retail sales figures as well as weekly jobless claim numbers

is due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The data dump will follow a relatively tame consumer

price reading earlier this week, indicating that consumer prices

saw a moderate rebound last month.

"Today's PPI, initial claims data and a Powell speech

are compelling reasons for risk to take a breather here," said

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG Group.

In results-driven moves, Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) gained 3.4%

after the networking-equipment maker raised its annual forecasts

and named Mark Patterson its new CFO.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for stocks this week as

equities surged on Monday and Tuesday after the United States

and China agreed upon a 90-day pause on their heated tariff

dispute.

These initial advances pushed the S&P into

positive territory for the year, a first since late February,

although the index still hovers about 4% below its all-time

highs.

However, the rally hit a roadblock in the last session as

markets searched for fresh catalysts. The S&P 500 eked out

marginal gains, while the Dow finished in the red.

Many megacap and growth stocks, which had enjoyed strong

gains earlier in the week, pulled back, with Nvidia's ( NVDA )

shares falling 1.3% and Tesla shedding 2.4%.

Other major movers included Foot Locker ( FL ), which soared

82.4% after rival Dick's Sporting Goods agreed to buy

the footwear retailer for $2.4 billion.

Top oil producers Chevron ( CVX ) and Exxon Mobil ( XOM )

dropped more than 1% each as oil prices slid more than 3% on

expectations of a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal that could result in

sanctions easing.

President Donald Trump, who is on a four-day tour of the

Gulf region, said the U.S. was getting very close to securing a

nuclear deal with Iran and that Tehran had "sort of" agreed to

the terms.