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Futures up: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.26%, Nasdaq 0.32%

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Fed's October meeting minutes due later in the day

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Target ( TGT ) drops after missing quarterly comparable sales

estimates

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Lowe's shares gain on quarterly profit beat

(Updates before markets open)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Twesha Dikshit

Nov 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set

for a higher open on Wednesday following sharp losses earlier in

the week, as investors set their eyes on Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings which

could prove to be a make-or-break moment for the AI trade.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) earnings, due after markets close on

Wednesday, are seen as a litmus test for the AI-driven rally

that has pushed markets to record highs this year. The rising

market has recently come under scrutiny on questions around

monetization and circular spending within the industry.

Options data from analytics firm Option Research &

Technology Services (ORATS) showed an implied move of about 7%

for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) stock in either direction after its results.

Shares of the AI giant gained 1.8% in premarket trading

after falling about 4.6% in the last two sessions.

Other megacap and growth stocks traded in the flat-to-higher

band, with Alphabet leading gains with a 1.4% rise.

"We may have a little more back and forth that investors

have been primed for this whole year to buy the dip and we

certainly have had pretty big dips," said Melissa Brown,

SimCorp's managing director of investment decision research.

"At least for now, some of these high flying names may still

get support as investors view the current prices as more

attractive"

At 08:46 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17 points,

or 0.26%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 79.5 points, or

0.32%, and Dow E-minis were up 70 points, or 0.15%.

Big-box retailer Target ( TGT ) dropped 3.4% after reporting

a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly sales with

cash-strapped U.S. consumers pulling back on discretionary

spending. Rival Walmart ( WMT ) is scheduled to report later

this week.

Lowe's advanced 5.4% after the home improvement

retailer posted third-quarter profit above expectations. Rival

Home Depot ( HD ) cut its annual forecasts on Tuesday amid

consumer concerns over cost of living.

Worries over high valuations and dwindling expectations of a

December interest rate cut have weighed on the markets of late,

with the S&P 500 recording its fourth consecutive day of

losses on Tuesday.

As of last close, the U.S. benchmark has dropped nearly 4.4%

from its October peak and stands 12.5% higher on a year-to-date

basis.

Speaking to Bloomberg News on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs Group

President John Waldron said the markets are primed for possible

further declines.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both closed below their 50-day

moving averages earlier this week - an important technical

threshold - for the first time since late April.

Later in the day, minutes from the Fed's October policy

meeting - where the central bank cut rates by 25 basis points -

are on investors' radar.

On Thursday, the September U.S. jobs report would be in

focus after being delayed because of the long government

shutdown, but it may do little more than confirm earlier private

market surveys pointing to a cooling labor market.

Before the bell, DoorDash ( DASH ) rose 2.5% after Jefferies

upgraded its rating on the online food delivery platform to

"buy" from "hold".