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* Futures: Dow and S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq down 0.24%

July 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were subdued on

Thursday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of the

June employment report, while a lack of progress in negotiations

to end the Middle East war also weighed on sentiment.

Markets had a choppy session on Wednesday, with the main

indexes settling lower following comments from Federal Reserve

Chair Kevin Warsh.

Warsh said inflation risks had eased but committed to

sticking firmly to the U.S. central bank's 2% inflation target,

vowing to "disappoint" anyone who expected a loose monetary

policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for lower

borrowing costs and criticized Warsh's predecessor, Jerome

Powell, for keeping rates elevated for too long.

"Markets have had a rocky start so far to Q3," a group of

Deutsche Bank analysts, led by its global head of macro

research, Jim Reid, wrote in a note.

They noted, however, that there was still "a fair amount of

optimism" among investors.

Traders expect at least one rate hike by the Fed this year,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

Some recent data has suggested that the labor market is

stable, potentially giving the central bank more leeway to hike

rates to contain inflation, without risking significant fallout

on employment.

Additionally, the U.S. and Iran concluded ​a round of

indirect talks on Wednesday with no sign they had made headway

toward lasting peace, adding another layer of uncertainty.

Investors will get a fresh read on the health of the labor

market when the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report is

released later on Thursday.

A Reuters survey of economists predicted that payrolls

likely increased by 110,000 jobs last ​month after rising

172,000 in May.

However, some predicted that the data may be distorted

because of hiring linked to the FIFA World Cup.

"As a result, markets are likely to place greater weight on

the June CPI (consumer price index) report due on July 14, as

inflation data will offer a cleaner read on the economy," said

Julien Lafargue, chief market strategist at Barclays Private

Bank.

At 5:00 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 13 points, or

0.02%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 3 points, or 0.04%, and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis slipped 72.5 points, or 0.24%.

Several chip stocks fell in premarket trading, with SanDisk ( SNDK )

and Arm Holdings down 2.6% and 2.1%,

respectively.

Bending Spoons slipped 3.1% a day after the Vimeo

owner gained 40% in its debut on the Nasdaq.