Futures slip on tariff woes; FedEx falls after cutting forecast

U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Friday as market participants continued to grapple with the ramifications of tariffs, with FedEx being the latest company to alter its full-year forecasts due to economic uncertainty.

FedEx saw a 7.1% drop in premarket trading, while peer UPS slipped 1.3%.

Persistent anxieties that an ongoing global trade war could upend the economy and squeeze corporate profitability have kept investors cautious about riskier assets. 

Markets await President Donald Trump's plans to implement new reciprocal and sectoral tariffs that are expected in early April.

Still, the benchmark S&P 500 index was set to log a 1.1% gain, rising for the first time in five weeks. It was also on track to snap its longest weekly losing streak in over a year.

The blue-chip Dow was set to log its best week in over two months, if gains hold.

Investors found some solace in the Federal Reserve's recent stance, which suggested that two 25 basis point rate cuts remained plausible by year-end, following a decision to maintain current borrowing costs on Wednesday.

Fed policymakers reiterated their expectation of a 50 basis point rate reduction this year, abating some concerns that their projection might be scaled back to a single 25-basis-point cut.

Nonetheless, the central bank also forecast slower economic growth alongside a temporary uptick in inflation.

Market expectations are pricing in approximately 70 basis points of rate cuts from the Fed this year, with a 70% likelihood of a 25 basis point cut at the upcoming June meeting, according to data compiled by LSEG.

By 5:55 a.m. ET, the U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 19.25 points, or 0.34%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 81.5 points, or 0.41%, and Dow E-minis were down 139 points, or 0.33%.

Nike fell 5.6% after projecting a sharper decline in fourth-quarter revenue than analysts had anticipated. 

Growth stocks, which bore the brunt of the recent market rout, slipped. Meta and Amazon.com fell 0.3% each, while Nvidia dropped 1.1%.

Investors will closely monitor insights from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams during his keynote address at 9:05 a.m. ET, as well as Chicago President Austan Goolsbee's interview on CNBC at 8:30 a.m. ET. 

On the flipside, the tech-heavy Nasdaq faced the prospect of recording its longest weekly losing streak in nearly three years.

This week was characterized by global central bank policymakers adopting a cautious tone, underscoring the unpredictable economic outlook attributed to escalating trade tensions.

Friday's session also marks the simultaneous expiry of quarterly derivatives contracts tied to stocks, index options and futures, also known as "triple witching".

(Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)