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* Qualcomm down on Morgan Stanley downgrade

* Lululemon falls after downbeat Q4 forecast

* U.S. job growth beats estimates in November

* Futures down: Dow 0.24%, S&P 0.28%, Nasdaq 0.58%

Dec 8 (Reuters) -

Wall Street was set to open lower on Friday as stronger-than-expected U.S. job growth and a drop in the unemployment rate signalled resilience in the labor market, dampening hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates by early next year.

The Labor Department's report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 199,000 jobs in November, compared with an estimated increase of 180,000.

The unemployment rate slipped to 3.7%, against expectations that it would remain steady at 3.9%, while average earnings rose 0.4% on a monthly basis, compared with forecasts of 0.3% growth.

Bets that the Fed will deliver a rate cut in March eased to 46.7% after the report from 57.7%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

"This is a fairly good report, not overly strong but strong enough to perhaps deflate the talk of an early rate cut," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.

Cardillo added the report did not alter expectations that the Fed would keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting next week.

The payrolls report is in contrast to a slew of data this week that indicated a softening labor market and fueled bets that the central bank was at the end of its tightening campaign and could pivot to lower rates soon.

Optimism around peak interest rates and upbeat quarterly earnings have led to a strong rebound in equities towards the end of the year, while the 10-year Treasury yield has plunged from its October peak of about 5%.

The S&P 500 has risen 19% so far in 2023 and is within close range of its highest intraday level of the year hit in July.

At 8:38 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 85 points, or 0.24%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 12.75 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 93 points, or 0.58%.

Among major movers, Qualcomm slipped 1.7% in trading before the bell as Morgan Stanley downgraded the chip firm to "equal weight" from "overweight."

Lululemon Athletica fell 2.2% after the premium apparel retailer forecast fourth-quarter results below expectations.

Honeywell

dipped 2.9% after the industrial firm said it would buy air conditioner maker Carrier Global's security business for $4.95 billion. Carrier's shares rose 5.5%.

Investors will also watch out for the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment data for December later in the day.

(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Shristi Achar A, additional reporting by Johann M Cherian; Editing by Anil D'Silva)