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US Steel up after report of active Nippon Steel ( NISTF ) merger

talks

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Lululemon shares slide after bleak annual outlook

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February PCE data due at 8:30 a.m. ET

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Futures off: Dow 0.13%, S&P 500 0.18%, Nasdaq 0.34%

(Updates with analyst quote)

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were under

pressure on Friday as investors grappled with the prospect of

more tariffs from President Donald Trump and kept a close eye on

a pivotal inflation report due later in the day.

Trump's decision to forge ahead with a 25% tariff on auto

imports - set to take effect next week - sent shockwaves through

global markets, inciting backlash from lawmakers and industry

leaders worldwide.

Auto stocks bore the brunt of the selloff in the previous

session. In premarket activity, General Motors ( GM ) dipped

0.6% following a 7% decline, while Ford inched up 0.4%

after a 3.9% drop.

Attention is now firmly on a fresh round of tariffs the U.S.

plans to unveil on April 2. Trump hinted that these measures

might not be the straightforward tit-for-tat levies he has

previously vowed to impose.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, investors will scrutinize the U.S. Personal

Consumption Expenditure data, the Federal Reserve's favored

indicator for inflation. February's numbers are anticipated to

reveal a rebound in consumer spending and a rise in annual core

PCE prices to 2.7%.

Traders expect the central bank to lower borrowing costs by

25 basis points for the first time this year in July, according

to data compiled by LSEG.

"The Fed will have a difficult job to do in setting monetary

policy in the months to come," said Charalampos Pissouros,

senior market analyst at brokerage XM.

"Although consumer and producer inflation data for the

month revealed some cooling, the components that are also

included in the PCE calculation, accelerated in March.

Therefore, this poses some upside risks to today's prints."

At 7:13 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 52 points,

or 0.13%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 10.25 points, or

0.18% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 67 points, or

0.34%.

Economic uncertainty as a consequence of tariffs have also

forced companies to lower their annual forecasts, with Lululemon

Athletica ( LULU ) being the latest to do so. Shares of the

sportswear maker slid 12.5%.

Gold prices scaled yet another peak due to ongoing

uncertainty on the tariff front, sending miners of the yellow

metal such as Harmony Gold and Gold Fields up

about 3% each.

The escalation of the global trade war, initiated by Trump

upon his return to the White House, has rattled markets.

Investors have dialed back their exposure to U.S. equities,

driving both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq down by

10% from their recent record highs, thus entering technical

correction territory earlier in the month.

Both indexes have managed to claw back over 3% from their

March lows as investors seek to establish a market floor.

Still, the indexes were poised to wrap up the first quarter

of 2025 in negative territory. The S&P 500 is facing its first

quarterly setback in six quarters, while the tech-laden Nasdaq

braces for its most significant quarterly dip in nearly two

years.

Investors will also parse through speeches by Federal

Reserve policymakers Michael Barr and Raphael Bostic later in

the day.

U.S. Steel rose 5.7% after a report said Nippon Steel ( NISTF )

and the company are in active talks about a deal that

would preserve their $14 billion merger.