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CVS gains after report Glenview to meet with executives

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Ford, GM slide after peer Stellantis ( STLA ) trims annual forecast

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Indexes: Dow down 0.54%, S&P 500 off 0.08%, Nasdaq up

0.25%

(Updated at 9:47 a.m. ET/1347 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 30 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Monday as investors

paused after a rally in the previous week and exercised caution

ahead of numerous job reports and comments through the week from

Federal Reserve policymakers, including Chair Jerome Powell.

At 9:47 a.m. the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell

226.69 points, or 0.54%, to 42,086.31, the S&P 500 lost

4.52 points, or 0.08%, to 5,733.65 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 44.41 points, or 0.25%, to 18,164.00.

Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were lower. Materials

was at the bottom with a 0.8% decline after logging

its best week since early December on Friday.

The Dow closed at a record high on Friday, and

the S&P 500 hovered near its own milestone. Both indexes

are set for their fifth straight month of gains, defying a

historical trend where September has been a weak month for

equities on average.

The three main indexes are set for a quarterly rise,

after the Fed kicked off its policy easing nearly two weeks ago,

fuelling gains on Wall Street.

Recent data has supported the trend of moderating price

pressures and an overall resilient economy, granting the Fed

enough room to support the labor market and avoid a recession by

reducing borrowing costs further.

Economists say that a mistake in setting interest rates

during the last phase of the Fed's inflation battle could be

risky for the economy over the next year as markets await

comments from chair Powell at a conference on Monday at 1:55

p.m. ET.

August's job openings report and September's pivotal

payrolls figure, along with final business activity estimates

are on the radar this week that could offer clues on the outlook

for the economy and rate cuts.

"If we start to see a greater-than-expected slowdown in the

jobs market, the forecast for the November Fed meeting could

show a greater likelihood of a 50 bps cut," said Sam Stovall,

chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

Traders are now pricing in 62.9% chances of a 25 bps

reduction, as per the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Those for a

bigger 50 basis points cut stand at 37.1%, down from 53% last

week.

CVS Health ( CVS ) rose 3.3% after a report showed hedge

fund Glenview Capital Management will meet top executives at the

struggling healthcare company.

Automakers Ford dropped 2.2% and General Motors ( GM )

lost 3% after European peer Stellantis NV ( STLA ) slashed its

annual forecasts.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba rose 3.5%, Li Auto

jumped 6% and PDD climbed 3.3% after China's

central bank, in its latest stimulus move, said it would tell

banks to lower mortgage rates for existing home loans.

Freeport-MacMoRan dipped 2.2% after a rating

downgrade from Scotiabank, weighing on the materials sector.

Markets also kept an eye on a worker union's port strike on

the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico that could cause delays

and snarl supply chains.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.45-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 13 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 36 new highs and 29

new lows.