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Weekly jobless claims at 223,000

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Accenture ( ACN ) falls after Q2 results, FY revenue forecast

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Futures off: Dow 0.4%, S&P 500 0.39%, Nasdaq 0.50%

(Updates before markets open)

By Pranav Kashyap and Johann M Cherian

March 20 (Reuters) -

U.S. stock indexes were set to open lower on Thursday, as

worries about the fallout of U.S. tariff policies crept back

into markets a day after the Federal Reserve stuck to its

monetary easing plans for the year but warned of an uncertain

economic backdrop.

Global markets have been roiled with volatility over the

past few weeks as investors were concerned that President Donald

Trump's aggressive stance on trade policies could stoke

inflation, tip the economy into a recession and disrupt the

Fed's monetary policy easing cycle.

The Fed maintained current interest rates on Wednesday as

expected and reaffirmed its forecast for two 25 basis point

reductions by the year-end.

However, adding to markets' unease, the central bank also

projected slightly reduced growth and increased inflation for

the year, alongside a modest uptick in the unemployment rate by

2025.

All the three major stock indexes closed higher by over 1%

each in the previous session. However, the S&P 500 is down 3.5%

so far this year and the Nasdaq is lower by 8%. The indexes'

declines have erased all gains since Trump's November election.

"We got a slightly excited on Wednesday by the dovish tone

that came out the press conference (of Fed Chair Jerome

Powell)," said Lilian Chovin, head of asset allocation at

Coutts.

"This is not the best environment for investors to take

a lot of risk. We should expect markets to remain choppy until

things quiet down and we have more clarity on Trump's policies,"

Chovin added.

A key focus for the markets will be the upcoming

implementation of new reciprocal and sectoral tariffs, slated to

take effect in early April.

Market participants are currently factoring in 63 basis

points of easing from the Fed this year, placing odds of 25 bps

rate cut in June at 60%, according to CME Group's Fedwatch tool.

Data showed initial jobless claims were largely in line

with estimates in the week prior.

A gauge of manufacturing activity in the U.S.

mid-Atlantic region rose more than expected in March. However,

the data also suggested increasing price pressures.

At 8:35 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were down 22.25

points, or 0.39%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 98.5

points, or 0.5%, while Dow E-minis were down 170

points, or 0.4%.

The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall

Street's fear gauge, gained 0.54 points and was last at 20.44.

Darden Restaurants ( DRI ) slipped 1.2% in premarket trading

after narrowing its annual profit forecasts, making it the

latest among a slew of companies to issue cautious forecasts as

a consequence of tariff uncertainty.

Accenture ( ACN ) reversed course and was last down 4.5%.

The IT services provider raised its full-year revenue forecast

on artificial intelligence services demand.

Growth stocks slipped, with Meta, Amazon.com ( AMZN )

and Microsoft ( MSFT ) down marginally.

Tesla lost 1.1%. The automaker

recalled

over 46,000 Cybertruck vehicles in the United States.

U.S.-listed shares of PDD Holdings ( PDD ) dropped 5.5%

after the Temu parent missed estimates for fourth-quarter

revenue.