Dow futures slip, S&P 500 holds steady with fresh data on deck

U.S. stock futures traded mixed on Tuesday to start the new quarter as investors waited for new jobs and manufacturing data to provide clues on the path to interest rate cuts.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ( YM=F ) fell 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures ( ES=F ) were just below the flat line, each hitting a fresh record. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also little changed.

Stocks opened in October and the fourth quarter is off to a mixed start as the market digests the latest comments from Jerome Powell. The chairman of the Federal Reserve said policymakers were in no rush to cut rates even as they struggled to keep the economy on a solid footing, prompting traders to hedge bets on another 0.5 percent cut.

Read more: What Fed rate cuts mean for bank accounts, CDs, loans and credit cards

An August jobs report due later could reset those bets if it comes in weaker than expected, with the Fed now firmly focused on the labor market. ISM and S&P Global updates on manufacturing activity are also likely to draw attention for clues about how quickly the US economy is slowing.

The readings will set the stage for the release of the September jobs report on Friday, the culmination of a week full of closely watched economic data. Investors are waiting for confirmation that the US economy is cooling rather than collapsing.

Meanwhile, a strike by dock workers on the East and Gulf coasts has begun, threatening to halt the flow of half of US ocean shipping. The disruption caused by the widespread shutdown could cost the economy billions of dollars a day, fuel inflation and put jobs at risk, as well as reverberate through American politics.

Investors were keeping an eye on geopolitical developments in the Middle East after Israeli troops moved into Lebanon.