US STOCKS-Wall Street subdued as traders await Fed decision

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Indexes: Dow fell 0.04%, S&P 500 flat, Nasdaq down 0.07%

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Hormel Foods (HRL) rises after annual profit forecast above estimates

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Salesforce climbs as FY26 outlook gets boost

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Investors assess a series of labor market data

(Updates with morning prices)

By Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap

Dec 4 (Reuters) -

Wall Street's main indexes fluctuated between small gains and losses on Thursday as investors analyzed a fresh round of labor market data to fine-tune expectations for a much-anticipated Federal Reserve rate cut next week.

With November's official payrolls report due after the Fed's December meeting, traders have turned to a patchwork of secondary indicators that offer a conflicting read on the jobs market.

A

weekly Labor Department report

showed new jobless claims fell to their lowest level in more than three years, even as a

Chicago Fed estimate

suggested the unemployment rate held near 4.4% in November.

Fed funds futures point to a nearly 90% chance that the central bank will cut rates by 25 basis points this month, up from around 60% last month, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

"Today the data is a little bit better, but there's no catalyst there to the upside," said Thomas Hayes, chairman at Great Hill Capital LLC.

"Good data is not going to encourage the Fed to cut more. So this one is a little better than expectations, but not so much better that you get nervous about them following through with the cut next week."

Investors were also exercising caution ahead of Friday's September Personal Consumption Expenditures report, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge and the first PCE release since the recent U.S. government shutdown left markets and policymakers with limited visibility on the economy.

At 9:49 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 21.23 points, or 0.04%, at 47,861.43, the S&P 500 rose 0.27 points, or less than 0.1%, at 6,849.41 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 16.45 points, or 0.07%, at 23,434.05.

The consumer services sector outpaced the S&P's 10 other sub-sectors, buoyed by a 3.6% rise in Meta after a report said the tech giant planned to cut up to 30% from its Metaverse budget.

Traders were also watching developments around U.S. President Donald Trump's selection of the next Federal Reserve chair, in a year of heightened concern over potential political interference in monetary policy.

A report said bond investors have expressed concerns to the U.S. Treasury that Kevin Hassett, a leading contender for the role, might pursue aggressive rate cuts to align monetary policy more closely with President Donald Trump's preferences.

Snowflake fell 11% after the cloud data analytics company's fourth-quarter product revenue forecast came in below lofty investor expectations for stronger growth.

Hormel Foods (HRL) climbed 4.7% after the Skippy peanut butter maker forecast annual profit above estimates, while Dollar General (DG) rose 7% after the discount retailer raised its annual profit forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.06-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.21-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 26 new highs and 15 new lows. (Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)