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Apple ( AAPL ) falls after brokerage downgrade

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Oil stocks rise after Trump to accelerate project permits

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Nuclear power firms climb as Trump doubles down on energy

policy

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3M ( MMM ) up after fourth-quarter profit beat

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Futures up: Dow 0.4%, S&P 500 0.42%, Nasdaq 0.52%

(Updates before markets open)

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

Jan 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were on

track to open higher on Tuesday, as investors assessed newly

elected President Donald Trump's executive orders on issues

including energy and immigration, while awaiting his first move

on trade policy.

Trump did not lay out any concrete plans on the universal

tariffs and additional surcharges on close trade partners as

previously promised, but said he was thinking about imposing

duties on Canadian and Mexican goods as early as Feb. 1.

While investors remain cautious about Trump's tariff

policies, which could spark a global trade war and fresh

inflation pressures, brokerage Goldman Sachs lowered its

forecast for a universal tariff this year to 25% from about 40%

seen in December.

At 08:44 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 173 points,

or 0.4%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 25.25 points, or 0.42%

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 112 points, or 0.52%.

Futures tracking the domestically focused small-cap Russell

2000 index added 0.6%.

Automakers General motors and Ford, which are

most sensitive to tariffs due to their vast supply chains, edged

up 1.3% and 1%, respectively, while Elon Musk-led Tesla

added 1.8% in premarket trading.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies Xpeng and

Li Auto added 6.1% and 5.4%, respectively, on no signs of

imminent surcharges on Chinese goods.

"It's impossible to know exactly what the Trump

administration will do...in the past, tariff rhetoric turned

into trade deals that turned into negotiating tactic and it was

never universally applied. So, I think the market right now is

taking a wait-and-see attitude towards that," said Art Hogan,

chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.

During the first year of Trump's first administration, the

S&P 500 rose 19.4%, while the benchmark index rose nearly

68% through his first term, but saw bouts of volatility,

stemming in part from a trade war Trump fought with China.

At the start of his second term, however, inflation is above

the Federal Reserve's 2% target, stoking worries that Trump's

policies could delay the central bank's pace of monetary policy

easing.

Economists see the Fed leaving borrowing costs unchanged

when it meets next week and traders see the first interest rate

cut coming in July, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Oil stocks Halliburton ( HAL ) rose 1.7% and SLB

climbed 1.5% after Trump declared a national energy emergency to

accelerate permitting oil, gas and power projects.

Prison operators Geo advanced 1.2% and CoreCivic ( CXW )

rose 3.3%, after Trump declared a national emergency on

illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexican border.

Nuclear stocks Oklo ( OKLO ) rose 5.3% and Vistra ( VST )

added 4.6% as energy secretary Chris Wright said he plans to

prioritize domestic nuclear energy production.

Apple ( AAPL ) fell 2% after brokerage Jefferies cut its

rating on the iPhone maker to 'underperform'.

3M ( MMM ) rose 4.4% after the industrial conglomerate

posted upbeat fourth-quarter profits, while strong results from

D.R. Horton ( DHI ) sent the home-builder's shares up 3.6%.

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru;

Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)