* U.S. economy sheds jobs in Sept
* Dollar steadies after recent slide
* Alcoa gains after earnings top view
* Futures off: Dow 26 pts, S&P 1.5 pts, Nasdaq 5.5 pts (Updates to include jobs data)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Oct 8 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to open little changed on Friday after data on the labor market boosted hopes the U.S. Federal Reserve would take more steps to rouse the economy.
Stock futures initially fell after a dismal headline number on the payrolls report, but rebounded because the overall report increased the likelihood of another round of quantitative easing from the Fed.
"This wasn't a defining answer at all for any type of speculation on what the Fed may do. Not great but still somewhat stable over the last few releases," said Dan Cook, senior market analyst at IG Markets in Chicago.
Because the data did not definitively change expectations, stocks appeared to be vulnerable to short-term fluctuations in other markets, particularly the euro.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers, said the euro exchange rate against the dollar was too strong at $1.4 as the dollar did not reflect U.S. economic fundamentals. That prompted the euro to erase gains against the dollar.
While market players still believe quantitative easing is on the way, the S&P 500 cannot escape its recent tie with the euro, shifting as the single currency swings.
The Labor Department said the U.S. economy unexpectedly shed jobs in September for a fourth straight month as government payrolls fell and private hiring was less than expected.
S&P 500 futures lost 1.5 points and were slightly above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 26 points and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 5.5 points.
Alcoa Inc added 3.1 percent to $12.58 in premarket trade as it kicked off the U.S. corporate earnings season after the close Thursday. The aluminum producer reported lower quarterly profit, but said global markets were strengthening.
Micron Technology Inc, the U.S. maker of memory chips for computers, missed earnings and revenue estimates as weak spending by corporations and consumers hurt prices.