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Futures off: Dow 0.39%, S&P 500 0.70%, Nasdaq 1.23%

Sept 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on

Friday ahead of key jobs data that could be pivotal when the

Federal Reserve decides on the size of its interest rate cut

that is expected later this month.

The August nonfarm payrolls figure due at 8:30 a.m. ET is

the final crucial labor market data before the U.S. central

bank's September meeting and is expected to show a 160,000 rise

in jobs, up from 114,000 in July. The unemployment rate is

forecast to ease to 4.2% in August, from 4.3% in the previous

month.

"The key question of course is how the Fed is going to react

after today's labor market data ... a 50-bps cut could be seen

as an implicit admission of the Fed being behind the curve,"

Teeuwe Mevissen, senior macro strategist at Rabobank, said.

The labor market has come under scrutiny after an unexpected

rise in the jobless rate sparked recession fears and sent the

tech-heavy Nasdaq down more than 10% into correction territory

and global markets into a selloff nearly a month ago.

Traders' bets for a 25-basis point interest rate cut in

September now stand at 57%, according to the CME Group's

FedWatch Tool, while those for a 50-bps reduction have risen to

43% from 30% a week ago.

Markets will also parse through remarks from New York Fed

President John Williams and Fed Governor Christopher Waller for

their insights on the data and consequent central bank policy.

At 05:21 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 161 points,

or 0.39%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 38.5 points, or

0.70%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 233.5 points, or

1.23%.

The S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow hit a more

than three-week low on Thursday after a set of mixed economic

data fueled uncertainty on the pace of monetary policy easing.

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

the benchmark S&P 500 down about 1.2% for the month on average

since 1928.

The S&P 500 is on track for a weekly drop of more than 2%,

its steepest decline in nearly five months, led by a near 5%

drop in technology stocks.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) slid 9.6% after the chipmaker forecast

fourth-quarter revenue slightly below estimates, hurt by

sluggish spending in its broadband segment.

Other chip stocks such as Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Marvell

Technology ( MRVL ) dropped 2.2% each, while Advanced Micro

Devices ( AMD ) shed 1.2%. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor

index is set for its biggest weekly drop in more than a

month.

Mobileye Global ( MBLY ) fell 4.9% after a report that top

shareholder Intel ( INTC ) is exploring a sale of part of its

stake in the automotive tech firm.

U.S. Steel rose 3%. A letter showed Japan's Nippon

Steel ( NISTF ) seeks to address U.S. government concerns about

its proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel.

Samsara gained 5.2% after the software firm lifted

its annual revenue forecast.