* Futures up: Dow 23 pts, S&P 2.5 pts, Nasdaq 5.5 pts
By Yashaswini Swamynathan
April 6 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged up onThursday, a day after Wall Street saw its biggest reversal in 14months following signals that the Federal Reserve could startunwinding its balance sheet this year.
* Investors also shied away from making big bets ahead of apotentially tense two-day meeting, starting Thursday, betweenPresident Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
* Wall Street has traded in a narrow range since Monday.That ended on Wednesday when the markets rallied after strongprivate-sector jobs report.
* But the indexes reversed after the minutes of the Fed’slatest meeting showed most policymakers thought the central bankshould start trimming its $4.5 trillion balance sheet this year.
* The Dow shed a gain of about 198 points to end near thesession low, which was a drop of nearly 50 points.
* The minutes also showed Fed officials “viewed equityprices as quite high relative to standard valuation measures,”adding to jitters over lofty valuations as the first-quarterearnings season approaches.
* Earnings of S&P 500 companies are expected to have risen10.1 percent. The index is trading at about 18 times forwardearnings estimates, above its long-term average of 15.
* U.S. stocks have risen on bets of fiscal stimulus, taxcuts and other pro-growth promises that Trump has made. However,recent setbacks in the new administration’s efforts to pushthrough its plans have led to some investors to question itsability to make good on its vows.
* On Wednesday, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryansaid tax reforms would take longer to accomplish that thehealthcare overhaul as the House, Senate and the White Housewere not on the same page over the policy.
* On Thursday, investors will keep an eye on a report thatis likely to show jobless claims slipped to 250,000 last weekfrom 258,000 the week before. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET(1230 GMT).
* Among the premarket movers was Advanced Micro Devices, which dropped 2.3 percent to $13.85 after Goldman Sachsinitiated coverage with a “sell” rating.
* Retailer Costco was up nearly 2 percent at$170.25 after reporting March sales, while Bed Bath & Beyondwas up 3.4 percent at $39.07 after reporting quarterlyresults.
Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET:
* Dow e-minis were up 23 points, or 0.11 percent,with 30,811 contracts changing hands.
* S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.11percent, with 175,080 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 5.5 points, or 0.1percent, on volume of 35,299 contracts.(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru)