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Payments firm Block falls as Q4 profit misses estimates

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Celsius surges on deal to buy wellness drinks brand Alani

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Futures up: Dow 0.1%, S&P 500 0.01%, Nasdaq 0.11%

(Updates with analyst comment)

By Shashwat Chauhan and Sukriti Gupta

Feb 21 (Reuters) -

U.S. stock index futures took a pause on Friday after

declining in the previous session when a drop in heavyweight

retailer Walmart ( WMT ), coupled with ongoing tariff jitters and an

uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook,

triggered risk aversion.

Walmart ( WMT ) edged 0.3% higher in premarket trading

after dropping more than 6% on Thursday, its biggest single-day

decline in more than a year, on a downbeat forecast. The retail

giant's plunge led to declines in all three indexes.

The S&P 500 is set for a flat weekly finish, receding

somewhat after hitting all-time highs twice this week, while the

Dow and the Nasdaq are on pace for mild weekly

declines.

"Despite U.S. President (Donald) Trump adopting a more

relaxed approach this week on the issue of tariffs, market

participants remain concerned about what lies ahead," Achilleas

Georgolopoulos, senior market analyst at forex broker XM, wrote

in a note.

Earlier this week, Trump said he will announce fresh tariffs

over the next month or sooner, adding lumber and forest products

to previously announced plans to impose duties on imported cars,

semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

Since returning to office four weeks ago, Trump has imposed

an additional 10% tariff on all imports from China. He also

announced, and then delayed for a month 25% tariffs on goods

from Mexico and non-energy imports from Canada.

Last week, he unveiled plans to slap reciprocal tariffs on

all countries that have tariffs on U.S. goods

On Friday, preliminary February economic activity surveys

published by S&P Global will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET, while

the final reading of consumer sentiment calculated by the

University of Michigan is due at 10 a.m. ET.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) reading, the

Fed's preferred gauge for inflation, would be on the radar next

week after consumer and producer prices reading earlier this

month painted a mixed picture.

Traders currently see at least one 25-basis-point interest

rate cut by the Fed this year, with a 60% chance of an

additional cut, according to LSEG data.

On Thursday, several Fed officials signaled they still feel

that cooling U.S. inflation will in time allow the U.S. central

bank to deliver further interest rate cuts.

One official said that current conditions call for holding

rates steady, and gave no indication of when, or whether, she

felt cuts would be needed. Comments from Fed Vice Chair Philip

Jefferson are due later in the day.

At 6:58 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 46 points,

or 0.1%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.5 points, or 0.01%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 24.25 points, or 0.11%.

Block slid 8.5% after the payment firm's

fourth-quarter profit fell short of estimates.

Celsius Holdings ( CELH ) jumped 32.6% after the energy

drink maker said it would buy health and wellness drinks brand

Alani Nutrition in a $1.8 billion deal through a combination of

cash and stock.

Akamai Technologies ( AKAM ) dropped 9.7% as the

cybersecurity company forecast annual 2025 revenue below

estimates.