US STOCKS-Wall St set for muted open after economic data; tariffs in focus

By Johann M Cherian and Sukriti Gupta

March 5 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set to open flat on Wednesday, after a jobs report fanned concerns of a slowing economy, while investors awaited a potential softer approach from President Donald Trump on trade policy.

Futures pared gains after ADP's national employment report showed the economy added 77,000 jobs in February, lower than expectations of 140,000.

The data added to fears of a slowdown in the world's largest economy.

Investors are now focussing on Friday's official payrolls report, which could be crucial for markets.

They are also closely monitoring the latest developments on tariffs. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview that Trump was considering granting some relief on import of items such as cars and autoparts, that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free-trade agreement.

The remarks came after Trump escalated a global trade war on Tuesday as he imposed 25% tariffs on top trade partners, Canada and Mexico, citing ineffective border controls.

The tariff announcement is expected later in the day.

In premarket trading, Ford F.N rose 2.3%, General Motors GM.N added 5.7% and Tesla TSLA.O gained 1%, after logging sharp declines in the previous session.

Brent Schutte, chief investment officer of Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company, said investors were trying to gauge the extent to which Trump will go before softening his tone on the tariff policy.

"You're going to have a very volatile market that trades off of headlines back and forth and that makes it a difficult recipe for any investor."

At 08:47 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were down 1 point, or flat, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 3.5 points, or 0.06% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 41.5 points, or 0.19%.

Futures tracking the domestically focused Russell 2000 index RTYcv1 climbed 0.3%.

On one hand, investors welcomed Trump's commitment to extend his 2017 tax cuts, but on the other, analysts expect his trade policies to fan inflation pressures, slow the economy and eat into corporate profits, at a time when multiple reports have suggested a cooling economy.

The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX has fallen about 6% from its record high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC has come close to confirming a 10% drop from its peak.

ISM's services sector survey is also due after markets open. The U.S. Federal Reserve is also slated to unveil its beige book at 2:00 p.m. ET, which will throw light on the impact tariff uncertainty has had on the world's largest economy.

Traders now see the central bank lowering borrowing costs for the first time this year in June, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Chipmakers Nvidia NVDA.O and Broadcom AVGO.O rose over 0.6% each. Investors assessed Trump's remarks as he said lawmakers should get rid of a landmark 2022 bipartisan law on subsidies to the semiconductor industry.

CrowdStrike CRWD.O fell 8.2% after the cybersecurity firm forecast first-quarter revenue slightly below estimates, due to weak spending on its cybersecurity products.

T-Mobile TMUS.O fell 2% after brokerage HSBC downgraded the wireless carrier to "hold" from "buy", Campbell CPB.O fell 4.8% after lowering its annual results forecasts.