LIVE MARKETS-US indexes drop with outlooks weak, Fed talk uncertain

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U.S. INDEXES DROP WITH OUTLOOKS WEAK, FED TALK UNCERTAIN

Wall Street's major indexes opened lower on Friday with a small batch of weaker than expected financial forecasts casting a shadow while Federal Reserve officials highlighted uncertainty in their commentary.

Shares in FedEx Corp FDX.N are tumbling almost 11% after the parcel delivery firm lowered its full-year profit and revenue forecasts late on Thursday, as it battles stubbornly soft demand and U.S. economic uncertainty as President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on trading partners.

Shares in Nike NKE.N are sinking about 9% after its late Thursday forecast of a steeper than expected drop in fourth-quarter revenue as the sports footwear, apparel and equipment maker works to rekindle interest among consumers who have defected to trendier rivals.

In the semiconductor space, Micron Technology MU.O is dropping more than 7% as its late Thursday Q3 forecast for gross margins below analyst estimates overshadowed its forecast for revenue above Wall Street estimates, which signaled strong demand for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI models.

On Friday, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said the U.S. central bank's monetary policy is in the right place at this time, given how the economy is performing in an environment where the outlook is quite uncertain.

Chicago Fed president Austan Goolsbee said that it remains an open question whether the Trump administration's tariff plans will lead to persistent inflation, with taxes on intermediate goods, retaliation by other nations, and other factors feeding into whether the central bank will have to react.

Nearly al of the S&P 500's 11 industry sectors are now lower with materials .SPLRCM, off ~2%, the weakest group. Communication services .SPLRCL is the sole gainer, edging higher by around ~0.2%.

The CBOE volatility index .VIX has popped up above 20 again after managing to close below that level for the last two sessions.

Here is your snapshot from 10:16 a.m ET/ 1416 GMT

(Sinéad Carew)

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