*

Tesla gains on plans to launch full self-driving in

Europe,

China

*

Frontier Communications falls following Verizon

acquisition deal

*

JetBlue ( JBLU ) jumps after Q3 revenue forecast

*

Indexes mixed: Dow down 0.39%, S&P 500 down 0.16%, Nasdaq

up

0.38%

(Updates to 2:30 p.m. EDT)

By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 index

and the Dow slipped in choppy trading on Thursday after a

short-lived boost from a string of economic reports faded and

investors eyed key jobs data due on Friday. The Nasdaq traded

slightly higher.

Markets were edgy ahead of the release of the comprehensive

nonfarm payrolls data - which will likely set the stage for the

Federal Reserve to begin cutting rates later this month.

Earlier in the session, Wall Street's main indexes gained as

reports helped allay concerns of labor market deterioration. The

Institute for Supply Management survey showed services sector

activity expanded in August while jobless claims declined last

week, according to Labor Department data.

Eight out of 11 S&P 500 sectors lost ground, led by declines

in healthcare and industrial stocks. The

consumer discretionary sector led the gainers, driven

partly by Tesla.

"The markets have been on this risk-on risk-off roller

coaster because it's watching the data as the Fed has said

'we're going to watch the data,'" said Wasif Latif, president

and chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners in Princeton,

New Jersey.

"The market is watching the data to get a sense of what the

economy is looking like in terms of the landing scenario and

what that means for interest rate policy from the Fed."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 160.92 points,

or 0.39%, to 40,814.05, the S&P 500 lost 8.61 points, or

0.16%, to 5,511.53 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 65.72

points, or 0.38%, to 17,150.02.

September has been historically weak for U.S. equities, with

the S&P 500 down about 1.2% for the month on average since 1928.

The index is down more than 2% so far this week and tech stocks

have fallen over 4%.

In August, U.S. private employers hired the fewest workers

since January 2021 and data for the prior month was revised

lower, potentially hinting at a sharp labor market slowdown,

according to the ADP National Employment Report.

"The market wants some softness in the data, but it's like a

narrow pathway because the equity market in our view is priced

for a soft landing or a no landing scenario whereas the bond

market, given the rate cut expectations, is bit more priced for

a recession," Latif added.

Tesla gained nearly 5% after the electric-vehicle

maker said it will launch its full self-driving advanced driver

assistance software in the first quarter next year in Europe and

China, pending regulatory approval.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) edged up 0.7% after falling more than 11% in

the previous two sessions. Other megacap stocks also rebounded.

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) rose 2.5%, Apple ( AAPL ) added 1.3% and

Alphabet gained 0.5%.

Frontier Communications shed 9.1% after Verizon

said it would buy the company in an all-cash deal worth

$20 billion. Verizon shares were down 0.6%

JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) jumped 8.6% after the carrier

raised its third-quarter revenue forecast.