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Aug JOLTS report, Sept. ISM survey due at 10 a.m. ET

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Boeing ( BA ) slips after report of weighing capital raise

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Futures: Dow off 0.17%, S&P 500 up 0.07%, Nasdaq up 0.28%

(Updated at 07:07 a.m. ET/ 1107 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Oct 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were mixed on

Tuesday ahead of the first of multiple labor market reports this

week, a day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell pushed

back against market expectations for outsized interest rate

cuts.

At an economics conference on Monday Powell reiterated that

the central bank is likely to reduce borrowing costs by an

additional 50 basis points by year-end, based on data that

pointed to robust consumer spending and gross domestic income.

Traders, who were divided over the size of the Fed's

upcoming interest rate cuts, are now pricing in a 25 bps

reduction at the November meeting with a 60.2% probability,

compared with 41.8% a week ago, as per the CME Group's FedWatch

Tool.

With inflation nearing the central bank's 2% target, focus

is squarely on the labor market, the mandate the Fed is focused

on after kicking off its monetary policy easing cycle in

September.

All eyes are on August's job openings and labor turnover

survey (JOLTS) due at 10 a.m. ET, along with the Institute for

Supply Management's estimate for manufacturing activity in

September.

"Given that Powell thinks inflation has been conquered, a

surprise in the employment reports could still alter the Fed's

course," analysts at Rabobank said in a note.

"After all, it's not preset. For example, very poor

employment growth or a jump in the unemployment rate could still

push the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) to make a 50 bps

cut."

At 7:07 a.m., Dow E-minis were down 72 points, or

0.17%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 4 points, or 0.07%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 56.5 points, or 0.28%.

Comments from Fed Presidents Raphael Bostic, Thomas Barkin,

and Susan Collins, alongside Governor Lisa Cook, will be parsed

for their insights on the economy and the monetary policy

outlook.

Wall Street's three main indexes closed September higher,

bucking a historical trend where equities' performance have been

weak on average during the month. The benchmark S&P 500

and blue-chip Dow notched their fifth straight month in

gains and closed near record highs in the previous session.

Markets also monitored a port strike on the East Coast and

the Gulf Coast halting the flow of about half the nation's ocean

shipping.

Retailers account for half of all container shipping volumes

and shares of Designer Brands ( DBI ), Costco, Walmart ( WMT )

were little changed in premarket trading.

Boeing ( BA ) dipped marginally after a report said the

planemaker is considering

raising at least $10 billion

by selling new stock.

CVS Health ( CVS ) added 2% after a report showed the

healthcare firm is exploring options that could include a

break-up of the company to separate its retail and insurance

units.

McCormick ( MKC ) was up 2.5% after the hot sauce maker

raised annual forecasts and beat third-quarter estimates.

Tesla was flat ahead of reporting third-quarter

deliveries on Wednesday, with analysts expecting an 8% jump from

a year ago.