*

Futures off: Dow 0.10%, S&P 500 0.10%, Nasdaq 0.16%

*

Target ( TGT ) down after reaffirming annual forecast

*

Lowe's up on $8.8 bln deal to buy Foundation Building

Materials,

upbeat forecast

*

Estee Lauder ( EL ) down after forecasting annual profit below

estimates

(Updates with results from Target ( TGT ), Lowe's and Estee Lauder ( EL ))

By Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy

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

Wednesday, following a tech-led selloff on Wall Street, as

investors parsed earnings from retailers Target ( TGT ) and Lowe's for

clues on consumer spending ahead of a key Federal Reserve

symposium later this week.

Earnings from major retailers, seen as a barometer for the

health of the American consumer, are in the spotlight this week,

at a time when sentiment has taken a hit from concerns that

tariffs could drive prices higher in the coming months.

Target ( TGT ) plunged 10% in premarket trading after the

company named a new CEO and retained its annual forecasts that

were lowered in May due to weak demand for the largely

discretionary merchandise it sells.

Estee Lauder ( EL ) fell 7.6% after the cosmetics giant

forecast annual profit below estimates due to tariff-related

headwinds, while Lowe's gained 2.7% after the home

improvement retailer raised its annual sales forecast and

announced plans to buy Foundation Building Materials for nearly

$8.8 billion.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq marked their worst

session in more than two weeks on Tuesday as investors started

to take stock of elevated valuations in the tech sector, whose

gains had driven most of the market recovery from the April

selloff.

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."

At 07:22 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 47 points,

or 0.10%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 6.75 points, or

0.10%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 37.5 points, or

0.16%.

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.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sanchayaita Roy in

Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)