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Futures: Dow down 0.03%, S&P 500 up 0.09%, Nasdaq up 0.11%

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Salesforce ( CRM ) drops after downbeat revenue forecast

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American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) surges on strong sales forecast

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Private payrolls increase less than expected in August

(Updates after ADP, jobless claims data)

By Purvi Agarwal and Ragini Mathur

Sept 4 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes were set for a muted open on

Thursday after a softer-than-expected private payrolls report,

while Salesforce ( CRM ) shares dropped as the cloud company gave a

downbeat revenue forecast.

U.S. private payrolls

increased

less than expected in August, while weekly jobless claims

came

in higher than expected

, amid easing labor market conditions.

Trader bets on a September interest rate cut were intact at

97%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. Markets were already

pricing in a more than 90% chance of a September cut when a weak

July job openings report on Wednesday amplified it.

Investors had adopted a dovish tone after July's

payrolls figures painted a bleak picture of the labor market and

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged rising risks to

employment late in August.

The focus now shifts to Friday's highly anticipated

nonfarm payrolls data.

"We got a softer ADP (reading) but not enough to

indicate a material slowdown or any change in the easing bias of

the Fed," said Eric Teal, chief investment officer at Comerica

Wealth Management.

"The market is expecting to see some cracks in the jobs

market ... not a complete erosion, but some weakening that will

make a stronger case for monetary easing."

Salesforce ( CRM ) fell 6% in premarket trading after the

company forecast third-quarter revenue below Wall Street

estimates on Wednesday, signaling lagging monetization for its

AI agent platform.

While AI-linked companies have driven U.S. stock indexes to

record highs this year, their momentum has recently waned

following quarterly updates from some firms including Nvidia ( NVDA )

that failed to impress investors.

Investors will also watch U.S. President Donald Trump's

nominee, economic adviser Stephen Miran, testify in a Senate

confirmation hearing on Thursday to fill Fed Governor Adriana

Kugler's seat, which she resigned last month.

At 8:45 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 13 points, or

0.03%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 5.75 points, or 0.09%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 25.25 points, or 0.11%.

American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) soared over 23% after the

apparel company forecast third-quarter comparable sales above

estimates on Wednesday, as its celebrity partnerships boosted

demand.

All three indexes started September on the back foot as

rising yields on longer-dated Treasuries pressured equities.

September has been historically bad, with the benchmark S&P 500

losing 1.5% on average in the month since 2000, according to

LSEG data.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed higher on Wednesday on a

boost from Google-parent Alphabet hitting an intraday

record high after a Washington judge ruled the company would not

have to sell its Chrome browser. The stock fell 0.8% on

Thursday.

Market participants will also parse speeches from Fed

officials John Williams and Austan Goolsbee later in the day.

Central bank officials had said on Wednesday that labor market

worries continued to animate their belief that rate cuts still

lay ahead.

Figma ( FIG ) fell 15.2% after the design software firm's

first quarterly results as a public company failed to impress

investors, who had rallied behind its blowout July debut.

Server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) gained 5.6%

after beating third-quarter revenue estimates on Wednesday.