Wall St futures slip as Middle East conflict rages on; jobs data in focus

March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on Friday as the conflict raging in the Middle East threatened to fuel inflation through higher energy costs, and investors awaited a pivotal jobs report.

The U.S.-Israel air campaign against Iran was nearing a week with no end in sight. Oil prices have surged the most this week since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine as shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz ground to a halt.

Natural gas producer Qatar said even if the Middle East war ended

immediately, it would take "weeks to months" to return to a normal cycle of deliveries, according to a report.

Crude prices edged higher and sent airlines American and Delta 1% lower in premarket trading. The S&P 500's passenger airlines subindex is on track for a 9%weekly drop.

A weekly jobs report is high on the radar for investors who are also watching out for the impact artificial intelligence integration by corporates could have on employment. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. ET. 

Overall stronger-than-expected data this week and a spike in crude prices have pushed back expectations for a 25-basis-point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve to October from July last month, according to LSEG-compiled data.

At 05:14 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 130 points, or 0.27%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 23 points, or 0.34%. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 102.5 points, or 0.41%.

AI-chip stocks Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices were down about 0.7% each. U.S. officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence chips, although the rules were not final.

Despite the gloomy mood, U.S. stocks have fared better than their Asian and European counterparts this week, upheld by a 1.5% rebound in technology stocks from February's losses. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is on track for small weekly gains.

Marvell Technology jumped 12% after the chip company forecast fiscal 2028 revenue above estimates.

Also supporting sentiment, the United States is perceived to be better shielded from energy shocks as it is a net exporter of oil.

Energy company Occidental added 2% on Friday and NextDecade climbed 2.3%. Natural gas exchange traded funds gained 2.2% and 1%, respectively.

Among others, Gap fell 5.9% after warning about pressure and uncertainty from U.S. import tariffs and forecasting annual adjusted profit largely below estimates.  

Oracle edged up 1% after a report said that the enterprise software company is planning thousands of job cuts as it faces a cash crunch from a massive AI data center expansion effort. 

(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)