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Futures off: Dow 0.05%, S&P 500 0.05%, Nasdaq 0.13%

Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were flat

to slightly lower on Monday as caution set in ahead of a week

filled with numerous jobs reports and comments from policymakers

including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Wall Street's main indexes have trended higher since the

world's most influential central bank kicked off its policy

easing nearly two weeks ago and are now set to end the month and

the quarter on a strong note.

At 5:44 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 21 points,

or 0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 3 points, or 0.05%

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 27.25 points, or 0.13%.

Futures tracking the small caps Russell 2000 index

slipped 0.48%.

The blue-chip Dow closed at a record high in the

previous session and the benchmark S&P 500 is a whisker

away from all-time highs. Both the 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.

Recent data has reflected moderating price pressures, while

the underlying economy fares well overall, granting the central

bank enough room to support the labor market and avoid a

recession by reducing borrowing costs further.

Economists say that a mistake by the Fed in setting interest

rates during the last phase of its 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.

Comments from Governor Michelle Bowman will also be parsed

before markets open. A report showed St. Louis Fed President

Alberto Musalem said the central bank should cut interest rates

"gradually".

Investors will also keep a close tab on August's job

openings report and September's pivotal payrolls figure, along

with final business activity estimates lined up through the week

as they look for clues on the outlook for the economy and

interest rate cuts.

Traders have been uncertain about the Fed's move at its

November meeting, with bets for quarter of a percentage point

reduction now at 58.4%, as per the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.

Those for a bigger 50 basis points cut stand at 41.6%.

Among top premarket movers, CVS Health ( CVS ) rose 1.3%

after a report showed hedge fund Glenview Capital Management

will meet top executives at the struggling healthcare company to

propose ways it can improve operations.

Automakers Ford and General Motors ( GM ) lost 3% each

after European peer Stellantis NV ( STLA ) slashed its annual

forecasts.

Lithium miners such as Albemarle rose 1.8%, Arcadium

added 1.7%, while U.S.-listed shares of copper miners

BHP and Rio Tinto rose 1.3% each after top

metals consumer China's central bank said it would tell banks to

lower mortgage rates for existing home loans in its latest

stimulus move.

U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba rose 4.8%, Li Auto

jumped 8.2% and PDD climbed 5.2% tracking

domestic stocks that saw their biggest single-day rally since

2008.

Crypto stocks such as Microstrategy ( MSTR ) lost 5.5%,

Coinbase dropped 4.4%, Bit Digital ( BTBT ) fell 4.9%

tracking a slide in bitcoin prices.