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Futures off: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.13%, Nasdaq 0.17%

Aug 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures declined on

Wednesday, following a tech selloff on Wall Street, as investors

geared up for more retail earnings and a crucial Federal Reserve

symposium later this week.

The tech sector was behind much of the market recovery from

the April selloff, but investors have started to take stock of

the elevated valuations, sending the S&P 500 and the

Nasdaq to their worst day in more than two weeks on

Tuesday.

Deepening concerns of government interference with

companies, sources said the Trump administration was looking

into taking equity stakes in chip companies in exchange for

grants under the CHIPS Act - just weeks after signing

unprecedented revenue-sharing deals with Nvidia ( NVDA ) and AMD.

Nvidia ( NVDA ), Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) and Intel ( INTC )

were marginally lower in premarket trading. Nvidia ( NVDA ) is

expected to report quarterly results on Aug. 27.

"For now, this looks like a mild and possibly necessary

correction after an extremely strong run for this space," said

AJ Bell's head of financial analysis, Danni Hewson.

"Nvidia's ( NVDA ) quarterly earning next week now look even more

crucial than they already were."

A slew of earnings from big-box retailers are also in the

spotlight now as investors seek a clearer picture on

discretionary spending at a time when consumer sentiment has

taken a hit from concerns around tariffs pushing up prices in

the months ahead.

Lowe's declined 1% a day after rival Home Depot ( HD )

missed expectations on quarterly results.

Estee Lauder ( EL ) fell 4.3%, while Target ( TGT ) and TJX

Companies ( TJX ) were marginally lower ahead of their

respective reports. Walmart's ( WMT ) results are due on

Thursday.

At 05:37 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 69 points,

or 0.15%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 8.5 points, or

0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 40.25 points, or

0.17%.

Minutes from the Fed's July meeting, where interest rates

were left unchanged, are expected at 2:00 p.m. ET. It could set

the tone before the central bank's highly anticipated conference

in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, between August 21 and 23.

Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak on Friday and his

remarks will be scrutinized for any clues on monetary policy,

even as investors price in a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in

September, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Traders "remain wary that Powell could strike a more

hawkish tone, emphasizing tariff-driven inflation risks and

pushing back against the degree of easing expected by the

market," said Bas Kooijman, CEO of DHF Capital S.A.

Remarks from Governor Christopher Waller and Atlanta Fed

President Raphael Bostic are expected later in the day.

Recent economic data has suggested that the economy is yet

to feel the full impact of tariffs and strategists expect the

lingering uncertainty to temper market optimism, leaving the

benchmark S&P 500 to potentially end the year just below current

near-record levels.

On the trade front, the Commerce Department slapped 50%

import levies on more than 400 "derivative" steel and aluminum

products.

Among others, Futu Holdings gained 4.3% after

reporting a jump in quarterly revenue.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)