US STOCKS-Wall Street set for subdued open after jobs data

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 1YMcv1 were down 22 points, or 0.05%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 2.75 points, or 0.05% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 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.O down 0.2% and Alphabet GOOGL.O up 0.3%. Rate-sensitive banks such as Goldman Sachs GS.N and Morgan Stanley MS.N edged up 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

Broadcom AVGO.O 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.O in-line forecast disappointed investors.

Nvidia NVDA.O and Micron MU.O added about 1% each.

Equities witnessed their most volatile week this year, with Wall Street's fear gauge .VIX 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 .SPX appeared to have reversed most of its gains since Trump's election victory.

The indexes, along with the blue-chip Dow .DJI 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 GAP.N beat fourth-quarter sales and profit estimates, sending shares of the apparel company up 14.4%.