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Futures down: S&P 500 0.17%, Nasdaq 0.4%, Dow 0.06%

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US private payrolls decrease unexpectedly in June

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Centene ( CNC ) tumbles after pulling 2025 forecast

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Verint Systems ( VRNT ) jumps after report of Thoma Bravo buyout

talks

(Updates with prices before the opening bell)

By Sruthi Shankar and Nikhil Sharma

July 2 (Reuters) -

U.S. stocks were on track for a subdued start on Wednesday

as surprisingly weak U.S. private jobs data raised concerns

about the labor market, while investors closely monitored trade

talks ahead of President Donald Trump's July 9 tariff deadline.

The ADP National Employment Report

showed

U.S. private payrolls fell unexpectedly in June and job

gains in the prior month were smaller than initially thought.

Investors quickly increased their bets of a rate cut by

the U.S. Federal Reserve in July to 27.4%, from about 20% prior

to the report, according to LSEG data.

"I take it as a mixed bag. On one hand, the wage is

still strong, which is terribly important to the U.S. economy.

On the downside, if this isn't seasonality, this is the

beginning of a long-term trend in white collar jobs that'll

spill over into the total labor market," said Ross Mayfield,

investment strategist at Baird.

"It would be very damaging for the overall economy and

obviously make the Federal Reserve react despite their concerns

about tariffs causing inflation."

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed lower in

the previous session, retreating from record highs as tech

stocks were pressured and Treasury yields climbed after data

showed stronger-than-expected job openings in May.

Focus now turns to the more comprehensive non-farm

payrolls report, scheduled for release on Thursday - a day

earlier than usual, as markets are closed on Friday for

Independence Day. The reading is expected to show U.S. job

growth cooled in June and the unemployment rate ticked up to

4.3%, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

On trade, Trump said on Tuesday he was not thinking of

extending the July 9 deadline for imposing tariffs and expressed

doubts that an agreement could be reached with Japan, although

he said he expected a deal with India. The European Union's

trade chief is expected to hold talks this week with peers in

Washington.

By 8:52 a.m. ET (1252 GMT), S&P 500 e-minis were

down 10.75 points, or 0.17%, Nasdaq 100 e-minis dropped

91.75 points, or 0.4%, and Dow e-minis slipped 28

points, or 0.06%.

The blue-chip Dow closed 1.3% below its record

high touched in December.

U.S. Senate Republicans passed Trump's massive

tax-and-spending bill on Tuesday by the narrowest of margins,

advancing a package that would slash taxes, reduce social safety

net programs and boost military and immigration enforcement

spending, while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.

The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives

for possible final approval, although a handful of Republicans

have already opposed some of the Senate provisions.

Among single stocks, Centene ( CNC ) tumbled 31.2% premarket

after the health insurer said it had withdrawn its 2025 earnings

forecast after data showed a significant drop in expected

revenue from its marketplace health insurance plans.

Shares of peers including Elevance Health ( ELV ), Molina

Healthcare ( MOH ) and UnitedHealth ( UNH ) dipped in the range

of 2.4% and 12.8%.

U.S. banking giants including JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), Bank

of America ( BAC ) and Wells Fargo ( WFC ) edged higher

following announcements that they planned to raise third-quarter

dividends after clearing the Fed's annual health check last

week.

Verint Systems ( VRNT ) soared 9.4% after Bloomberg News

reported buyout firm Thoma Bravo was in talks to buy the

call-center software maker.