*

Futures up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.23%, Nasdaq 0.45%

*

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) forecasts annual profit below estimates

*

Spotify ( SPOT ) falls after forecasting Q3 profit below estimates

*

Fed starts two-day meeting later in the day

(Updates with prices before the opening bell)

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

July 29 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were poised for a higher open on

Tuesday as investors assessed a plethora of earnings releases

from top U.S. companies and looked ahead to the Federal

Reserve's upcoming two-day monetary policy meeting.

At 8:20 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 14.5

points, or 0.23%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 105.75

points, or 0.45%, and Dow E-minis were up 69 points, or

0.15%.

A higher open for the Dow could help it reach a new

record high, with the index currently about 200 points below its

peak. Its key components, UnitedHealth ( UNH ) and Boeing ( BA )

, reported mixed quarterly results.

Health insurer UnitedHealth ( UNH ) fell about 1% in premarket

trading following a disappointing profit forecast, while Boeing ( BA )

gained 2% thanks to a smaller second-quarter loss.

Meanwhile, United Parcel Service ( UPS ) became the

latest

victim

of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, with the

stock falling 3% after the company reported a

lower-than-expected second-quarter profit.

On Monday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq scored fresh record

closes in volatile trading, aided by a U.S.-EU trade deal that

halved tariffs to 15% and boosted expectations of more

agreements ahead of Trump's looming August 1 deadline.

The President has also floated a potential "world tariff" of

15-20% for non-negotiating countries.

Key negotiations between the U.S. and China entered their

second day in Stockholm, as the two leading economies aim to

iron out their trade conflict and possibly produce a 90-day

extension to the tariff truce brokered in May.

Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT )

, Amazon ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL ) are scheduled for

later this week, which could test Wall Street's record run.

"The easiest gains (on Wall St) have now happened, and any

further rise is likely to happen much more slowly," said Thomas

Mathews, head of Markets at Capital Economics.

The continuation of the rally may depend heavily on Big

Tech profits "continuing to paint a positive picture," he said.

Spotify ( SPOT ) tumbled 5.4% after the company forecast

third-quarter profit below estimates.

The U.S. central bank is set to begin its two-day policy

meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave

rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze

policymakers' remarks to gauge the timing of future moves.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in

about a 63% chance of a rate cut in September.

The meeting comes amid the White House's campaign on the

central bank to lower borrowing costs, including Trump's

persistent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and occasional

suggestions to remove him from his position.

At 10:00 a.m. ET, investors will analyze the U.S. Job

Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) to test the strength

of the labor market, which has shown resilience in recent weeks

despite signs of inflation from tariffs.

The JOLTS report will set the stage for the ADP private

payrolls data on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims on Thursday,

and non-farm payrolls on Friday.

The consumer confidence report is also due for the day.

Among other earnings-related moves, Cadence Design ( CDNS )

rose 8.3% in premarket trading after the chip design software

provider raised its annual sales and profit forecast.