(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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September ADP National Employment survey due at 8:15 am ET

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Nike ( NKE ) falls after withdrawing annual revenue forecast

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Humana drops on lower members in Medicare Advantage plans

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Futures off: Dow 0.40%, S&P 500 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.22%

(Updated at 07:08 a.m. ET/1108 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Oct 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures dipped on

Wednesday after geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a

domestic port strike made investors wary ahead of labor data

expected to shed light on the health of the economy and the

monetary policy path.

Wall Street's main indexes had a dour start to the final

quarter of the year, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

touching about two-week lows in the previous session, as

investors sold riskier assets after Iran fired missiles against

Israel in retaliation for its attacks in Lebanon.

Markets held their ground as Israel and the U.S. vowed to

strike back. However, oil prices climbed more than 3% as traders

priced in possible supply disruptions from the oil-rich region.

Oil stocks such as SLB and Occidental Petroleum ( OXY )

added 2.3% and 1.6%, respectively, in premarket trading.

Defense stocks such as Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) and RTX

gained 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively, after the broader

S&P 500 aerospace and defense index hit a record

high in the previous session.

"The situation remains highly volatile, but if Israel's

response is not too aggressive, markets may take the view that

both countries are for the second time this year preferring to

de-escalate after a brief hostile exchange," analysts at ING

bank said.

At 07:08 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 168 points,

or 0.40%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 15.5 points, or

0.27% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 43.5 points, or

0.22%.

Futures tracking the small-cap Russell 2000 index

slipped 0.7%, while safe-haven Treasury bonds dipped after

Tuesday's surge.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge,

hovered near a three-week high and was last at 19.4.

In economic data, the ADP National Employment survey for

September is due at 08:15 a.m. ET, ahead of the pivotal non-farm

payrolls data for September, which is expected on Friday.

Comments from policymakers including Beth Hammack, Alberto

Musalem, Michelle Bowman and Thomas Barkin are scheduled through

the day.

Markets ended September higher after the U.S. Federal

Reserve kicked off its monetary policy-easing cycle with an

unusual 50-basis-point rate cut in an effort to shore up the

jobs market, which has taken on a greater importance in the

central bank's dual mandate of price stability and low

unemployment.

Odds of a quarter-percentage-point rate reduction at the

Fed's November meeting are at 63.2%, up from 42.6% a week ago,

according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Investors also monitored a dockworkers' strike on the East

and Gulf coasts which entered its second day. The walkout could

cost the American economy roughly $5 billion a day, analysts at

JPMorgan estimated.

Some companies such as Walmart ( WMT ), Merit Medical

Systems ( MMSI ) and McCormick ( MKC ) said they had planned for

the strike. Their shares were flat in premarket trading.

Analysts said the spike in oil prices, along with the port

strike, could raise inflation, which neared the central bank's

2% target recently.

Dow-component Nike ( NKE ) slid 5.6% after withdrawing its

annual revenue forecast just as a new CEO is set to take the

helm.

Humana tanked 11% after it said it expects the

total number of members enrolled

in its Medicare Advantage plans for those aged 65 and above

to decrease for 2025.