U.S. stock futures were slightly softer on Wednesday amid cautious trading ahead of a raft of jobs data.
How are stock-index futures trading
-
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
-0.20%
dipped 7 points, or 0.2%, to 4122 -
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
-0.17%
fell 50 points, or 0.2%, to 33527 -
Nasdaq 100 futures
NQ00,
-0.18%
eased 23 points, or 0.2%, to 13196
On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
fell 199 points, or 0.59%, to 33402, the S&P 500
SPX,
declined 24 points, or 0.58%, to 4101, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
dropped 63 points, or 0.52%, to 12126.
What’s driving markets
Stocks have stalled for now as investors ponder whether to be pleased that soft economic data of late has trimmed bond yields, or to be wary of the business downturn those trends foretell.
China’s closure for a holiday and a soft handover from Europe are adding to the caution.
“After a string of gains for risk assets over recent days, the last 24 hours have seen some steam come out of that rally, with investor nerves growing about the state of the economy once again,” said Henry Allen, strategist at Deutsche Bank.
The S&P 500 shed 0.6% on Tuesday, falling back from a seven-week high, after data showed job openings in the U.S. at a 21-month low and JPMorgan
JPM,
boss Jamie Dimon delivered a downbeat assessment of economic prospects.
The 2-year Treasury yield
TMUBMUSD02Y,
which is particularly sensitive to monetary policy expectations, was about 5% a month ago but on Wednesday was 3.88%.
The extent by which the Federal Reserve’s year-long sharp hikes in interest rates to combat inflation have impacted the economy may be become clearer in coming days.
The private sector ADP jobs survey will be published on Wednesday at 8;15 a.m., followed on Thursday by the weekly initial jobless claims and then on Friday, when markets are closed for the Easter holiday, the nonfarm payrolls report will be released.
“Markets are drifting…as traders begin to reign in any new positions ahead of a long Easter weekend,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor.
Adding to the circumspection is news after Tuesday’s closing bell from Walmart
WMT,
The giant retailer said it expects adjusted earnings per share of $5.90 to $6.05 for its full fiscal 2024, set to end in January. However, this is lower than the FactSet-compiled analyst estimate of $6.11.
Other U.S. economic updates set for release on Wednesday include the trade balance for February, due at 8:30 a.m.; the final reading of the March S&P services PMI at 9:45 a.m.; and the March ISM services reports at 10 a.m.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
