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CVS gains after report Glenview to meet with executives

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Ford, GM slide after peer Stellantis ( STLA ) trims annual forecast

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Futures off: Dow 0.15%, S&P 500 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.31%

(Updated at 7:29 a.m. ET/1129 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on

Monday as investors were cautious ahead of a week filled with

numerous jobs reports and comments from policymakers including

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Dow E-minis were down 63 points, or 0.15%, S&P 500

E-minis were down 12.75 points, or 0.22% and Nasdaq 100

E-minis were down 62.75 points, or 0.31%.

Futures tracking the small caps Russell 2000 index

slipped 0.64%.

The blue-chip Dow closed at a record high on

Friday, and the benchmark S&P 500 is a whisker away from

an all-time high. Both indexes are set for their fifth straight

month of gains, defying a historical trend where September has

been a weak month for equities on average.

The world's most influential central bank kicked off its

policy easing nearly two weeks ago, fuelling a rally that has

propped Wall Street's three main indexes for quarterly gains as

well.

Data recently has supported the trend of moderating price

pressures, while the underlying economy fares well overall,

granting the Fed enough room to support the labor market and

avoid a recession by reducing borrowing costs further.

Economists say that a mistake in setting interest rates

during the last phase of the Fed's inflation battle could be

risky for the economy over the next year as markets await

comments from chair Powell at a conference on Monday at 1:55

p.m. ET.

Comments from Governor Michelle Bowman will also be parsed

before markets open. A report showed St. Louis Fed President

Alberto Musalem said the central bank should cut interest rates

"gradually".

Investors will also keep a close tab on August's job

openings report and September's pivotal payrolls figure, along

with final business activity estimates lined up through the week

for clues on the outlook for the economy and rate cuts.

Traders have been divided over the Fed's move at its

November meeting, with bets for quarter of a percentage point

reduction now at 60.9%, as per the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Those for a bigger 50 basis points cut stand at 39.1%, down from

53% last week.

"Unemployment close to matching the Fed's year-end forecast

would solidify the (50 bps cut) pricing. The bigger risk for

market pricing shifting back towards 25 bp cuts could be with an

unexpectedly strong reading," Citigroup analysts said in a note.

Among top premarket movers, CVS Health ( CVS ) rose 2.6%

after a report showed hedge fund Glenview Capital Management

will meet top executives at the struggling healthcare company to

propose ways it can improve operations.

Automakers Ford and General Motors ( GM ) lost over 3%

each after European peer Stellantis NV ( STLA ) slashed its

annual forecasts.

Lithium miners such as Albemarle rose 1.5%, Arcadium

added 1.4%, while U.S.-listed shares of copper miners

BHP and Rio Tinto rose 0.6% each after top

metals consumer China's central bank, in its latest stimulus

move, said it would tell banks to lower mortgage rates for

existing home loans.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba rose 3.9%, Li Auto

jumped 6.9% and PDD climbed 4.3% tracking

domestic stocks that saw their biggest single-day rally since

2008.

Crypto stocks such as Microstrategy ( MSTR ) lost 5.3%,

Coinbase dropped 3.4%, Bit Digital ( BTBT ) fell 4.1%

tracking a slide in bitcoin prices.