* Investors cautious ahead of September employment report
* Wal-Mart sees slow U.S. recovery
* Factory orders on tap
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click [STXNEWS/US] (Updates with quote; adds byline)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Oct 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures slipped on Friday as cautious investors awaited a key report on labor market conditions after other data this week suggested the nascent economic recovery may be losing momentum.
The Dow and S&P 500 indexes suffered their worst one-day fall in three months on Thursday after manufacturing and jobless reports fueled fears about the recovery's strength. A broad sell-off left major indexes down as much as 3 percent.
The U.S. Labor Department's employment report on Friday is expected to show the jobless rate in the world's largest economy rose to a 26-year high in September of 9.8 percent, according to analysts polled by Reuters. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. [1230 GMT].
"The market is in a wait-and-see mode after a reality check this week with weak economic numbers. It was a change of pace for the market that has been accustomed to data exceeding expectations," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.
"Investors are worried whether this trend will continue with the employment report."
Signs of a weak recovery also came from the chairman of
Wal-Mart Stores Inc
Global stock markets fell ahead of the U.S. jobs data. European shares hit a four-week low and Japan's Nikkei average slid 2.5 percent to a two-month closing low. [ID:nL296155] and [ID:nT305932]
The Commerce Department releases August factory orders at 10:00 a.m. [1400 GMT] Economists in a Reuters poll see orders rising 0.3 percent from a 1.3 percent increase the prior month.
Energy shares will likely be pressured as U.S. crude oil
futures
S&P 500 futures
Stocks in the spotlight included General Electric Co
GE, a Dow component, was off 0.4 percent to $15.91 in premarket trading.
CIT Group Inc
Automakers were also in focus a day after they reported a 23 percent fall in September U.S. auto sales, as showrooms emptied after the government-funded "cash for clunkers" program. (Editing by Padraic Cassidy)