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U.S. stock-index futures were slightly softer on Wednesday as investors weighed private-sector employment data and awaited a March jobs report that will be released on Good Friday, a market holiday.
How are stock-index futures trading
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00 fell 32 points, or 0.1%, to 33,545.
-
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
-0.20%
were off 6.5 points, or 0.2%, at 4,122.50. -
Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
-0.13%
eased 5.25 points, or less than 0.1%, to 13,213.75.
On Tuesday, the Dow
DJIA,
and S&P 500
SPX,
snapped four-day winning streaks, while the Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
dropped 0.5%.
What’s driving markets
Stock futures remained modestly lower after ADP said private-sector employers added 145,000 jobs in March, well below the 210,000 expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal.
ADP data will be followed on Thursday by the weekly initial jobless benefit claims and then on Friday, when U.S. stock exchanges are closed for the Good Friday holiday, the March nonfarm payrolls report will be released.
Read: Good Friday complicates how stock-market traders will digest March U.S. jobs report
The rally in U.S. stocks of the past two weeks has stalled for now as investors ponder whether to be pleased that weaker economic data of late has trimmed bond yields, or to be wary of the business downturn those trends foretell.
“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 index 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 3.76%, extending a decline after the ADP data.
The extent by which the Federal Reserve’s yearlong campaign to raise interest rates to combat inflation have impacted the economy may be become clearer in coming days.
“Markets are drifting…as traders begin to rein 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.
Companies in focus
-
FedEx Corp.
FDX,
-1.03%
said Wednesday it would boost its dividend by 10% and plans to consolidate its operating companies into a single organization. Shares rose 2.2% in premarket trade.
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