(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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KB Home ( KBH ) falls after downbeat annual revenue forecast

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Consumer confidence data for March due at 10 a.m. ET

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CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gains after brokerage rating

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Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 up 0.05%, Nasdaq flat

(Updates with McCormick ( MKC ) results, CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) rating)

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures struggled

for direction on Tuesday, as investors weighed the scope of

upcoming reciprocal tariffs, a day after the Trump

administration hinted that there might be a softer approach to

the policies.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that not all of

his threatened levies would be imposed on April 2 and some

countries may get breaks, a move Wall Street took as a sign of

flexibility on a matter that has roiled markets for weeks.

The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq

closed at their highest level in over two weeks,

propelled by a rally in megacap stocks including Nvidia ( NVDA )

and Tesla.

However, futures lost some ground on Tuesday as uncertainty

over the scope of Trump's tariffs weighed on sentiment. A report

also said the president is considering a two-step tariff regime

next week.

"Just because the bite isn't going to be as bad doesn't mean

it's not going to hurt. This is a classic 'buy the rumor, sell

the fact' we're seeing," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market

analyst at Capital.com.

"There's still a lot of weakness in the equity market.

Eventually, it's going to turn lower and buyers don't want to be

caught out on the wrong side of the trade."

Tesla rose 1.4% in premarket trading, building on a near 12%

surge a day earlier.

The company's market share in Europe continued to shrink

year-on-year in February, data showed, as sales of the

all-electric car maker dropped for a second month despite rising

EV registrations overall on the continent.

KB Home's ( KBH ) shares fell 8.6% as the homebuilder cut

its full-year 2025 revenue forecast.

At 7:25 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 1 point, or

flat, S&P 500 E-minis were up 2.75 points, or 0.05% and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 0.75 point, or flat.

Also limiting gains among stocks, yields on Treasury notes

ticked up, with that on the 10-year benchmark

touching a one-month high.

Speeches from Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler

and Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams are

due later in the day.

A slew of economic indicators is set to be released this

week, including consumer confidence for March, which is due at

10:00 a.m ET on Tuesday.

Forecasts point to a further deterioration in consumer

sentiment, following an eight-month low in February.

The most eagerly anticipated release is Friday's personal

consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred

inflation indicator, which consensus forecasts suggest will hold

steady but remain above the Fed's 2% target.

Among others, McCormick & Company ( MKC ) dropped 3.2% after

the food processing company missed estimates on quarterly

profit.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) gained 1.7% after brokerage BTIG

raised its rating on the cybersecurity company to "buy" from

"neutral", while Ally Financial ( ALLY ) fell 2.4% as BTIG

lowered its rating on the financial services company to "sell"

from "neutral".