US STOCKS-Wall St set to open lower on tariff woes; FedEx falls on bleak forecast

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open lower on Friday as investors continued to navigate the complex landscape of tariffs, with FedEx becoming the latest firm to adjust its annual projections due to economic uncertainties.

FedEx FDX.N fell 9% in premarket trading, while peer UPS UPS.N slipped 1.9%. Delivery firms are often seen as a barometer for the global economy given their involvement in a wide range of industries.

The Dow Jones Transport Index .DJT, a barometer of U.S. economic health, has fallen nearly 18% from its all-time peak and was teetering on the brink of its longest weekly losing streak in over a year.

In an interview, Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee noted that the current conditions could "maybe" a shock to the economy, highlighting the importance for the Fed to know the duration of the tariffs and any potential retaliatory measures.

Lingering fears of a prolonged global trade war, threatening to unravel economic stability and squeeze corporate profits, have cast a shadow over the markets, leading investors to tread carefully around riskier assets.

Markets now await President Donald Trump's plans on reciprocal and sectoral tariffs that are expected to take effect in early April.

Commenting on the impact of tariffs, Commerzbank analysts wrote, "this only serves to create uncertainty among companies, which are increasingly putting their plans for new jobs and investment on hold."

At 8:42 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 38.5 points, or 0.67%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 169.75 points, or 0.85%, and Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 229 points, or 0.55%.

Nevertheless, on a weekly scale, the benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX is on course to achieve a 1.1% gain, marking its first weekly rise in five weeks and potentially ending its longest losing streak in over a year.

The blue-chip Dow .DJI is positioned to secure its biggest weekly advance in over two months, should gains persist.

Earlier in the week, investors took some comfort from comments of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who said that the overall economy was on solid footing. However, he warned that the decision to leave interest rates unchanged stemmed from a cloudy outlook on the impact from Trump's policies.

This week also witnessed other central banks including the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England adopting a cautious tone, underscoring the unpredictable economic outlook attributed to escalating trade tensions.

Traders 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.

Among other movers, Nike NKE.N fell 7.2% after the sports apparel maker projected a sharper decline in fourth-quarter revenue than analysts had anticipated.

Micron Technology MU.O swung between gains and losses and was last down 3.2%. The chip maker forecast third-quarter revenue above Street estimates.

Growth stocks, still reeling from the recent market rout, slipped. Apple AAPL.O lost 1.3%, Amazon.com AMZN.O dipped 0.8%, while Nvidia NVDA.O lost 1.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC is on track to record its longest weekly losing streak in nearly three years.

Investors will also monitor insights from New York Fed President John Williams at 09:05 a.m. ET.

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