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Futures up: S&P 500 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.1%, Dow 0.16%

July 2 (Reuters) -

Wall Street stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday,

as investors monitored U.S. trade negotiations ahead of

President Donald Trump's July 9 deadline and looked ahead to

payrolls data for clues on the monetary policy path.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed lower in

the previous session, pausing after a record run that was driven

by optimism over the U.S. striking trade deals with its key

partners and by expectations of deeper interest-rate cuts.

Trump said on Tuesday he was not thinking of extending the

July 9 deadline for imposing tariffs and cast doubts that an

agreement could be reached with Japan, although he expects a

deal with India. The European Union's trade chief is expected to

hold talks this week with peers in Washington.

Tech stocks came under selling pressure a day earlier, as

Treasury yields climbed after data showed stronger-than-expected

job openings in May, signaling a resilient labor market and

confirming the Federal Reserve's stance of being patient on

cutting interest rates.

Focus is now on the monthly non-farm payrolls report, due on

Thursday, as markets are closed on Friday for Independence Day.

The data is expected to show U.S. job growth cooled in June and

the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, per a Reuters poll of

economists.

ADP's private payrolls data for June is due at 08:15 a.m.

ET.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senate Republicans passed Trump's massive

tax-and-spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins,

advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety

net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement

spending while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.

The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives

for possible final approval, though a handful of Republicans

have already voiced opposition to some of the Senate provisions.

By 5:53 a.m. ET (0953 GMT), S&P 500 e-minis were up

8.5 points, or 0.14%. Nasdaq 100 e-minis climbed 22.5

points, or 0.1%, and Dow e-minis added 72 points, or

0.16%.

The blue-chip Dow closed 1.3% below its record high

touched in December.

Among single stocks, Centene ( CNC ) tumbled 26.6% premarket

after the health insurer said it had withdrawn its 2025 earnings

forecast after data showed a significant drop in expected

revenue from its marketplace health insurance plans.

Shares of peers including Elevance Health ( ELV ) and

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) dipped 3.8% and 1.2%, respectively.

U.S. banking giants including JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), Bank

of America ( BAC ) and Wells Fargo ( WFC ) edged up after they

announced plans to raise their third-quarter dividends after

clearing the Fed's annual health check last week.

Verint Systems ( VRNT ) soared 12.7% after Bloomberg News

reported buyout firm Thoma Bravo was in talks to buy the

call-center software maker.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika

Syamnath)