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Nike ( NKE ) dips on bleak revenue outlook

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FedEx ( FDX ) tumbles after results, outlook

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Boeing ( BA ) jumps after fighter jet contract award

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Indexes off: Dow 0.2%, S&P 0.31%, Nasdaq 0.09%

(Updates to afternoon trading)

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, March 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dipped on

Friday, but were well off their earlier lows after comments from

U.S. President Donald Trump provided hope that previously

announced tariffs expected to begin in early April may not be as

onerous as feared.

Trump said there will be flexibility on tariffs and that his

top trade chief plans to speak with his Chinese counterpart next

week. The president also reiterated his plan to use duties as a

way to narrow the U.S. trade deficit with China.

Markets have been under pressure in recent weeks as

changing announcements about the timing and size of tariffs have

clouded the outlook for corporate profits as well as the Federal

Reserve's monetary policy path.

Stocks have shown some signs of bottoming this week,

however, with the S&P rallying more than 1% on Wednesday in the

wake of the Fed's latest policy announcement. The central bank

kept rates unchanged and signaled two cuts were likely this

year.

Even so, Michael Arone, chief investment strategist for

the U.S. SPDR Business at State Street Global Advisors in

Boston, said it was concerning that investors' attempts to rally

the stock market this week had largely failed.

"The reasons are the continued uncertainty around trade

policy from the Trump administration, continued concerns about a

U.S. economic growth scare and ultimately uncertainty about what

the path of monetary policy looks like," Arone said.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said

the central bank needs more time to "sort through" how Trump's

policies play out in the economy, while New York Fed President

John Williams echoed Goolsbee's comments and said there was no

rush to change monetary policy right now.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 82.33

points, or 0.20%, to 41,870.99, the S&P 500 lost 17.49

points, or 0.31%, to 5,645.40 and the Nasdaq Composite

lost 15.51 points, or 0.09%, to 17,676.26.

The S&P was down as much as 1.06% earlier in the day.

With earnings season set to begin next month, multiple

companies have been reducing their forecasts. FedEx ( FDX )

slumped 6.5% after the package delivery company cut its

full-year profit and revenue forecasts, citing continued

weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy.

Peer UPS lost 2.2%. Delivery firms are often

seen as a bellwether for the global economy given their reach

into a wide swath of different industries.

The delivery companies weighed on the Dow Jones Transport

Index which was down 0.4% after having fallen as much as

2.7% earlier in the session.

Also weighing on the transports were airlines such as

Delta and United after Britain's Heathrow

Airport was shut, sparking global travel turmoil.

Nike ( NKE ) slid 5.7% as the worst performer among Dow

Industrial components 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 as it fell more than 1%, weighed down by a drop of more

than 5% in Nucor Corp ( NUE ) after the company forecast

first-quarter profit below estimates.

Boeing ( BA ) jumped 4.4% after Trump awarded the

planemaker a contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most

sophisticated fighter jet, beating out rival Lockheed Martin ( LMT )

, which tumbled 6.1%.

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.

For the week, the S&P is on pace to snap a four-week streak

of declines, while the Nasdaq is poised for a fifth straight

weekly decline, its longest such streak in nearly three years.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.22-to-1

ratio on the New York Stock Exchange and by a 1.64-to-1 ratio on

Nasdaq.

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

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 25 new highs and 171 new

lows.