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Futures off: Dow 0.24%, S&P 500 0.10%, Nasdaq 0.02%

Aug 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on

Thursday, as investors stepped to the sidelines and awaited an

earnings report from big-box retailer Walmart ( WMT ) and clues on the

Federal Reserve's next policy move from a three-day conference

in Jackson Hole.

A sharp decline in technology stocks such as Nvidia ( NVDA ), AMD,

Palantir ( PLTR ) and Meta earlier this week signaled investor fears that

the stocks, which have soared since April lows, are now

overvalued, while Washington's growing interference in the

sector has also raised alarms.

The selloff could also be a result of investors paring back

their stock exposure during a traditionally rocky period for

equities, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

"Equities could be more at risk of volatility amid this

week's selloff in AI-related stocks on the back of renewed

doubts about AI valuations," said Raffi Boyadjian, lead market

analyst at brokerage XM.

"Although dip buyers have stepped in to stabilize the

market, it's too early to rule out a further slump in mega-cap

tech stocks."

In premarket trading, Nvidia ( NVDA ), Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ) and Palantir ( PLTR ) were marginally up, while

Meta was flat.

The market focus is now on Walmart's ( WMT ) results,

expected before the bell. Its shares were down 1.3%. Investors

expect the major retailer to strike a cautious tone on customer

demand as the labor market cools and inflation ticks up.

Reports from other retailers such as Target ( TGT ) and Home

Depot ( HD ) earlier this week painted a mixed picture, and now

investors are trying to gauge how U.S. tariffs would impact

holiday sales later this year.

At 05:43 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 110 points,

or 0.24%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 6.25 points, or

0.10% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 5.25 points, or

0.02%

The Fed's annual symposium is expected to kick off on

Thursday, with Powell scheduled to speak on Friday at 10 a.m.

ET. Traders are looking for any commentary from Chair Jerome

Powell that would signal an interest rate cut in September

following recent job market weakness.

Minutes from the central bank's July meeting showed on

Wednesday that policymakers had struck a cautious tone and

expect the current interest rates to be not far above the

neutral level - where economic activity is neither stimulated

nor constrained.

That led traders to pare back odds of a 25-basis-point

interest rate cut in September to 79% from 99.9% last week,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

A weekly report on jobless claims, a private report on

business activity and remarks from Atlanta Fed President Raphael

Bostic, are also expected on Thursday.

Among other market movers, Coty ( COTY ) slumped 22% after

the beauty products maker forecast a drop in current-quarter

sales on weak U.S. spending.

CoreWeave ( CRWV ) rose 1.7% after trading firm Jane Street

Group reported it has a 5.4% passive stake in the Nvidia ( NVDA )-backed

company.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)