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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 0.35%, S&P 500 off 0.05%, Nasdaq up

0.05%

(Updated at 11:48 a.m. ET/1548 GMT)

By Johann M Cherian and Purvi Agarwal

Sept 30 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were flat

to lower in choppy trading on Monday as investors paused after

the previous week's rally and exercised caution ahead of

numerous job reports and comments through the week from Federal

Reserve policymakers, including Chair Jerome Powell.

At 11:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average

fell 146.01 points, or 0.35%, to 42,166.99, the S&P 500

lost 2.59 points, or 0.05%, to 5,735.58 and the Nasdaq Composite

gained 8.62 points, or 0.05%, to 18,128.21.

Six of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were lower. The materials

index was at the bottom with a 1% decline after

logging its best week since early December on Friday.

The Dow and the S&P 500 were hovering near all-time

highs and were set to log gains for the fifth straight month,

bucking a historical trend where September has been weak for

equities on average.

Gains sparked by the Fed's start to monetary policy easing

nearly two weeks ago have propped Wall Street's three main

indexes for a quarterly rise as well.

Recent data supporting the trend of moderating price

pressures and an overall resilient economy has granted the Fed

enough room to focus on 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.

Traders are now pricing in 59% chances of a 25 bps

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

bigger 50 basis point cut stand at 41%, down from 53% last week.

"The market had a weekend to digest data and understand that

50 bps cuts really signal that there is a problem," Robert

Conzo, CEO and managing director at the Wealth Alliance.

"A series of quarter point rate cuts is a good thing to

do. It shows that the economy is not doing poorly. We should

lower rate at a more measured pace."

CVS Health ( CVS ) rose 1.9% after a report showed hedge

fund Glenview Capital Management will meet top executives at the

struggling healthcare company.

Automakers Ford dropped 2.5% and General Motors ( GM )

lost 3.9% after European peer Stellantis NV ( STLA ) slashed

its annual forecasts.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba and PDD

inched up 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 2.8% 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 1.24-to-1

ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.12-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and two new

lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 62 new highs and 58

new lows.