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Gap soars after raising annual sales forecast

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Intuit drops after forecasting Q2 results below estimates

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S&P flash PMIs expected at 9:45 a.m. ET

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Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 down 0.1%, Nasdaq down 0.2%

(Updates before markets open)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Nov 22 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were poised for a subdued

start on Friday as investors awaited a business activity survey

and monitored geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia.

The benchmark S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow closed

Thursday at one-week highs, with AI bellwether Nvidia ( NVDA )

managing modest gains after its quarterly forecast, while

investors took comfort from robust economic data. In premarket

trading on Friday, Nvidia ( NVDA ) dropped 0.5%.

Market attention is now on a S&P business activity survey

due at 9:45 a.m. ET, with forecasts pointing to services

activity still in expansion territory, while manufacturing is

expected to remain in contraction.

At 08:43 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 6 points, or

0.01%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 6.25 points, or 0.1%

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 43.5 points, or 0.21%.

The three main indexes are on track to end the week higher,

with sentiment still strong about the positive implications

Donald Trump's tax and tariff policies could have for corporates

after his win in the presidential election.

Further, much of the gains this year have been led by

technology-related stocks, popularly called as the 'Magnificent

Seven'.

"A lot of investors have positioned in those (stocks) and

have been for a long time. People are cautious because it's

really hard to sell anything at this point because you don't

want to take the capital gains at the end of the year but you

want to reduce your risk," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio

manager, Globalt Investments.

Futures tracking small caps inched up 0.2% and the

Russell 2000 index was set for weekly advances of about

2%.

However, expectations on the Federal Reserve's policy move

in December have recently swayed between a pause and a cut, as

investors weigh the impact Trump's policies can have on price

pressures.

There is a 59.4% probability the central bank will lower

borrowing costs by 25 basis points, as per the CME Group's

FedWatch Tool. Most brokerages also back a quarter-point cut.

Comments from Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman

will also be parsed later in the day.

Markets were also monitoring a missile exchange between

Ukraine and Russia after the latter lowered its threshold for a

nuclear retaliation earlier in the week. Energy stocks

are the most sensitive to geopolitical risks and have gained

over 2% this week.

Among top movers, Gap Inc ( GAP ) jumped 20% after the Old

Navy parent raised its annual sales forecast and said the

holiday season was off to a "strong start".

Intuit lost 2.6% after the TurboTax parent

projected second-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street

estimates on Thursday.

Alphabet dipped 1% and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) was

flat.

On Thursday, the Google parent slid after prosecutors argued

it was monopolizing online search, while a report said Europe

will start an investigation next year into whether Amazon ( AMZN ) favors

its own brand products on its online marketplace.

Most crypto stocks slipped, with bitcoin trading shy

of $100,000. Coinbase dropped 1.8% and MARA Holdings ( MARA )

lost 2.7%, while MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) added 2%.