US STOCKS-Futures struggle for direction ahead of Fed meeting

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Futures: Dow down 0.01%, S&P 500 down 0.06%, Nasdaq down 0.2%

March 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures struggled for direction on Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting that will be closely monitored for commentary from the central bank on the potential economic ramifications of ongoing tariff disputes.

The central bank's two-day rate-setting meeting starts later in the day, and is set to conclude on Wednesday. Markets anticipate it will maintain the status quo on interest rates, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The Fed's updated economic projections will shed light on policymakers' assessments of the Trump administration's policy maneuvers.

"The changes that we do expect (from the central bank) are in a pessimistic direction," said Ryan Wang, U.S. economist at HSBC.

"The potential 'stagflationary' risks from tariffs and trade policy uncertainty create a complication for the monetary policy outlook".

President Donald Trump's tariffs have ignited a trade skirmish with key U.S. trading partners, including swift retaliatory tariffs.

Analysts noted U.S. equities entered oversold territory last week.

At 05:47 a.m. ET, U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 3.5 points, or 0.06%, Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 39.75 points, or 0.2%, Dow E-minis were down 4 points, or 0.01%.

The S&P 500 plunged more than 10% from its February high, confirming the bellwether index has been in a correction since then.

The blue-chip Dow index hovered about 3% shy of a correction, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq confirmed it is in a correction on March 6.

Gold, often traded as a safe-haven asset, crossed $3,000 per ounce for the first time last week, and hit yet another record high earlier in the session.

U.S.-listed stocks of gold miners such as Barrick Gold rose 1.8% and Gold Fields gained 2.7% in premarket trading.

Some investors engaged in "dip buying," capitalizing on discounted U.S. equities, and that has propelled all the three major indexes up more than 2% each over the past two sessions.

Focus will also be on developments related to the Ukraine-Russia war as Trump was scheduled to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the day. (Reporting by Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)