Futures rise as growth stocks bounce, economic data eyed

[May 05, 2021]  By Shreyashi Sanyal

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday as growth stocks bounced from a steep sell-off in the previous session, while investors awaited data on private jobs growth and service sector activity in April.

Megacap technology-related companies including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc rose between 0.3% and 0.9% in premarket trading.

Value stocks, that stand to benefit more from economic recovery, also gained, with oil major Chevron Corp adding 1.3%, lender Goldman Sachs Group Inc up 0.7% and heavy machinery maker Caterpillar Inc gaining 0.3%.

The S&P 500 value index has risen 15.1% so far in the year, while its growth counterpart is up 7.1%.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday she sees no inflation problem brewing, downplaying earlier comments that rate hikes may be needed to stop the economy overheating as President Joe Biden's spending plans boost growth.

The initial comments made by Yellen deepened a sell-off in tech stocks on Tuesday.

The front facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is seen in New York City, U.S., May 4, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Market participants are now awaiting monthly jobs data from payrolls processor ADP, which is expected to show additions of 800,000 last month, compared to 517,000 job additions in March.

A more comprehensive reading in the form of the Labor Department's non-farm payrolls data is due Friday.

Also on the radar is the Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index, which is expected to show a slight rise in April from March.

At 7:06 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 77 points, or 0.23%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 14 points, or 0.34%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 68.75 points, or 0.51%.

Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc rose 5.9% after it surprised Wall Street with significantly lower losses than expected.

Rival Uber Technologies Inc is set to report earnings after markets close on Wednesday.

T-Mobile US Inc gained 2.4% as it raised its full-year postpaid subscriber net additions forecast.

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

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