(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments due at 12:30 p.m. ET

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Costco falls after quarterly profit misses expectations

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Nonfarm payrolls increase by 151,000 in February

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Futures: Dow off 0.05%, S&P 500 up 0.05%, Nasdaq up 0.18%

(Updates before markets open)

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

March 7 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set

for a subdued open on Friday after data showed

less-than-expected improvement in job growth in February,

bringing little relief to investors rattled by tariff-related

market turbulence.

At 08:50 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 22 points,

or 0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 2.75 points, or 0.05%

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 36 points, or 0.18%.

A Labor Department report showed the U.S. economy added

151,000 jobs in February, up from 125,000 in the previous month.

However, the growth missed economists' expectations of a 160,000

rise.

Unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, while average earnings

rose 0.3% on a monthly basis, in-line with expectations.

"Deteriorating indicators like hiring intentions, new job

listings and temporary staffing suggest a potential slowdown in

employment growth," said Joe Gaffoglio, CEO and president at

Mutual Of America Capital Management.

"Even with these conditions, we don't expect the Fed to cut

rates at its next meeting or even in the next few months."

Traders backed away from betting on the Federal Reserve

lowering interest rates in May and added to expectations that

the central bank will lower borrowing costs for the first time

in June, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Megacaps were mixed, with Microsoft ( MSFT ) down 0.2% and

Alphabet up 0.3%. Rate-sensitive banks such as Goldman

Sachs ( GS ) and Morgan Stanley ( MS ) edged up 0.3% and 0.1%,

respectively.

Broadcom ( AVGO ) rose 9.5% in premarket trading after the

chipmaker assuaged investor worries about artificial

intelligence infrastructure demand with a strong second-quarter

forecast - a day after peer Marvell's ( MRVL ) in-line forecast

disappointed investors.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Micron added about 1% each.

Equities witnessed their most volatile week this year, with

Wall Street's fear gauge trading near levels not seen

since mid-December, as traders tried to assess President Donald

Trump's fluctuating trade policy.

In the previous session, the Nasdaq confirmed a 10% drop

from its December all-time high, while the benchmark S&P 500

appeared to have reversed most of its gains since Trump's

election victory.

The indexes, along with the blue-chip Dow are on

track for their biggest weekly drop since September. Equity

funds witnessed the largest weekly outflow in four weeks in the

week ended on March 5.

Trump on Thursday offered a four-week reprieve on tariffs he

imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico that fall under a

free-trade pact, but the U.S. is still in a trade war with

China. Additionally, reciprocal trade barriers and other duties

are expected to take effect in the following weeks.

Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Chair Powell at 12:30 p.m. ET

could offer more clarity on the central bank's policy. His

colleagues, including John Williams, Michelle Bowman and Adriana

Kugler, are also slated to speak later in the day.

Gap beat fourth-quarter sales and profit estimates,

sending shares of the apparel company up 14.4%.