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ISM non-manufacturing survey scheduled for 10 a.m. ET

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Tesla gains on plans to launch full self-driving software

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JetBlue ( JBLU ) jumps after Q3 revenue forecast hike

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Futures: Dow and S&P 500 flat; Nasdaq off 0.14%

(Updated at 07:21 a.m. ET/1121 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were flat on

Thursday ahead of a series of economic data as investors scoured

for clues to determine the size of the Federal Reserve's

interest rate cut that is expected later this month.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed lower for the

second straight session on Wednesday after a drop in job

openings in July and a Fed survey fanned worries of slowing

economic activity.

Traders' bets for a 25-basis point reduction in interest

rates at the Fed's September meeting stand at 57%, according to

the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Bets for a larger 50-bps cut rose

to 43% from 34% a week earlier.

"The worry is that the Fed has waited too long to loosen

monetary policy, and now runs the risk of contributing to a

hard, rather than a soft landing," said David Morrison, senior

market analyst at Trade Nation.

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

the benchmark index down about 1.2% for the month on average

since 1928.

Worries that a cooling labor market could mean a looming

recession have added to the sense of caution, with the benchmark

S&P 500 down more than 2% so far this week and tech stocks

falling nearly 5%.

Late on Wednesday, voting member and San Francisco Fed

President Mary Daly said lower borrowing costs were needed for a

healthy labor market.

Focus will be on the ADP National Employment Report and

weekly jobless claims, in the run-up to Friday's crucial

non-farm payrolls data from the Labor Department.

Economists expect the ADP report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, to

show private payrolls rose by 145,000 jobs in August, compared

with an increase of 122,000 in July.

The Institute for Supply Management survey, due at 10 a.m.

ET, is expected to show non-manufacturing activity in August

stood at 51.1.

At 07:21 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 19 points, or

0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 0.75 point, or 0.01%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 26.75 points, or 0.14%.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) edged up 0.5% in premarket trading, after

falling more than 11% during the past two sessions. The AI chip

firm said on Wednesday it did not receive a U.S. Justice

Department subpoena.

Tesla rose 2.5% after the electric-vehicle maker

said it will launch the full self-driving advanced driver

assistance software in the first quarter next year in Europe and

China, pending regulatory approval.

C3.ai ( AI ) tumbled 19% after the AI software firm missed

quarterly subscription revenue estimates.

Frontier Communications dropped 10%. Verizon

said it would buy the company in an all-cash deal worth $20

billion.

JetBlue Airways ( JBLU ) jumped 5.8% after the carrier

raised its third-quarter revenue forecast.

Leading up to the U.S. presidential elections, Goldman Sachs

analysts said Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris'

proposed corporate tax hike could lower earnings for companies

on the S&P 500 index by about 5%, while Republican candidate

Donald Trump's proposed relief would boost earnings by about 4%.