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Indexes off: Dow 0.26%, S&P 500 0.37%, Nasdaq 0.12%

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Nike ( NKE ) dips on bleak revenue outlook

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Nucor ( NUE ) falls after projecting profit below estimates

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Boeing ( BA ) climbs after winning fighter jet contract

(Updates to mid-session trading)

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 21 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main stock indexes traded shy of their session

lows on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted there

would be some flexibility regarding tariffs, ahead of the

reciprocal duties he is expected to impose early next month.

Trump also

mentioned plans

to discuss the tariff situation with Chinese President Xi

Jinping, at a time when the U.S. is at a trade war with the

country.

Markets have been jolted by Trump's shifting trade policies,

creating uncertainty for corporate investment and the economy.

Investors are now awaiting the U.S. president's detailed

plans on the reciprocal and sector-specific tariffs.

Against this backdrop, companies have been altering

their forecasts, with FedEx ( FDX ) being the latest firm to cut

its annual projections. The stock fell 8.11%.

Peer UPS lost 2.6%. Delivery firms are often

seen as a barometer for the global economy given their

involvement in a wide range of industries.

The delivery companies weighed on the Dow Jones Transport

Index, which is often seen as a gauge of U.S. economic

health. The index fell 1.1% and has lost over 18% from its

November all-time peak.

Also weighing on the Transport index were airlines such

as Delta and United after

Britain's Heathrow Airport was shut

, sparking global travel turmoil.

Nike ( NKE ) slid 5.1% after the sports apparel maker

projected a sharper decline in fourth-quarter revenue than

analysts had anticipated.

Materials led declines among the 11 S&P 500

sectors with a 1.6% drop, dragged down by Nucor Corp ( NUE )

after the company

forecast

first-quarter profit below estimates.

"People are sitting on their hands ... markets are going

to remain in this churning until we have positive policy

catalysts and we don't see those coming until August or

September," said Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

In an interview, Chicago Federal Reserve President

Austan Goolsbee

noted

that the current conditions could "maybe" shock the

economy.

Separately, New York Fed President

John Williams

reiterated the U.S. central bank's monetary policy stance,

given the uncertainty.

At 12:38 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 109.33 points, or 0.26%, to 41,843.99, the S&P 500

lost 21.12 points, or 0.37%, to 5,641.77 and the Nasdaq

Composite lost 21.91 points, or 0.12%, to 17,669.72.

Boeing ( BA ) jumped 4.8% after a

report

said Trump awarded the planemaker a contract to build the

U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet.

Friday's session also marks the simultaneous expiry of

quarterly derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options

and futures, also known as "triple witching", which added to

market volatility.

On a weekly scale, the benchmark S&P 500 index is on

track to mark its fifth-straight week in the red - its longest

weekly losing streak since May 2022, if losses hold.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq is on track to record its

longest weekly losing streak in nearly three years, while the

blue-chip Dow is positioned for marginal gains.

The Dow is about 3% away from confirming a correction - a

10% drop from its record high.

Earlier in the week, the Federal Reserve kept rates

unchanged, in a widely anticipated move.

Traders see about 70 basis points of rate cuts from the

Fed this year, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.58-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.86-to-1 ratio Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted nine new 52-week highs and 16 new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 25 new highs and 163

new lows.