US STOCKS-US stock futures stall in run-up to January jobs data

Updates with prices, comments

By Twesha Dikshit and Purvi Agarwal

Feb 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures drifted on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to crucial jobs data, delayed by a partial government shutdown, and tracked a busy slate of corporate earnings.

The employment report is expected to show U.S. job growth picking up in January despite a sluggish labor market grappling with tariff uncertainty and worker constraints amid tighter immigration rules.

The data could sway bets for interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, especially after December's unexpected stall in retail sales nudged the odds of an April reduction up to 35.5% from 32.2% a day earlier, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

"A soft data set would likely reinforce dovish Fed expectations... and support the rotation trade," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank.

"A stronger-than-expected data may reduce expectations for earlier Fed cuts, but it won't change the broader narrative that part of the U.S. economy, excluding tech, is heading in the wrong direction."

Markets still price in the first rate cut to take place in June, when U.S. President Donald Trump's Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, is expected to take charge, pending Senate approval.

But any surprises in the labor data or Friday's crucial inflation print could quickly alter the rate outlook.

At 07:05 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis YMcv1 were up 36 points, or 0.07%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 4.5 points, or 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were up 19.25 points, or 0.08%.

Quarterly earnings remained front and center, with Cloudflare NET.N shares jumping 13.6% after the cloud and network security provider offered a better-than-expected forecast for annual and first-quarter sales.

Robinhood HOOD.O shares dropped 7.9% after the retail brokerage posted fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations.

Humana HUM.N slid 6.8% after the health insurer forecast 2026 profit below Wall Street estimates, while U.S.-listed shares of Shopify SHOP.O jumped 7.4% after projecting first-quarter revenue above expectations.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed lower on Tuesday, while the Dow notched its third record close in a row. The benchmark S&P 500, however, was not too far off its record high in January end.

AI-led disruption is back in the spotlight, with markets quick to punish sectors perceived to be at risk. After software names were hit hard last week, brokerages stumbled on Tuesday after startup Altruist's AI-enabled tax-planning features stoked worries.

Meanwhile, a narrowly divided U.S. House of Representatives rejected a bid by Republicans on Tuesday to block legislative challenges to Trump's tariffs, a move that could allow Democrats to try to reverse the levies on Canada. A Supreme Court ruling on the legality of the tariffs is also expected in the next few months.

Among other movers, Moderna MRNA.O shares fell 10% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided not to review the drugmaker's approval application for its influenza vaccine.

Lyft LYFT.O tumbled 17% after the ride-hailing company's quarterly profit forecast and annual ride volumes fell short of Wall Street expectations.

(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit and Purvi Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shilpi Majumdar)

((Twesha.Dikshit@thomsonreuters.com;))