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Wall Street stumbled in the first two sessions of 2024, with the
benchmark S&P 500 notching its worst two-day performance since
late-October as investors booked profits after a blistering
rally last year.
Hopes that the Fed could start interest rate cuts this year had
driven much of the gains towards the end of 2023, though the
latest minutes from the central bank's December policy meeting
did not offer many clues on when the easing might commence.
Traders now see a 72.6% chance for at least a 25 basis points
(bps) rate cut in March and a near 96% probability for May.
Yields on U.S. Treasury tenors, an indicator of interest rate
expectations, edged up, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year
note climbing to 3.955%. [US/]
Investors now await the ADP National Employment Report due at
8:15 a.m. ET, ahead of a key jobs report on Friday, both of
which could shed some light on the health of the labor market
and influence expectations on the rate trajectory.
Economists polled by Reuters expect private payrolls to have
increased by 115,000 in December, from a 103,000 rise the month
before.
Also on tap are initial jobless claims data for the week ended
Dec. 30 and December S&P services sector activity data.
Apple was the only megacap stock in the red, down 0.9% in
trading before the bell, after brokerage Piper Sandler
downgraded the iPhone maker to "neutral" from "overweight".
Micron Technology rose 2.1% after brokerage Piper Sandler
upgraded its recommendation on the chipmaker to "overweight"
from "neutral".
Other semiconductor stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices and
Broadcom also gained 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively, recovering
from a recent downturn.
At 5:52 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 35 points, or 0.09%, S&P
500 e-minis were up 3 points, or 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis
were up 17.75 points, or 0.11%.
Among other movers, sportswear makers Nike and Foot Locker shed
1.4% and 1.4% after UK retailer JD Sports lowered its annual
profit forecast.
Mattel dropped 2.6% after brokerage Roth MKM downgraded the
Barbie doll maker to "neutral".
Fubotv gained 4.8% after the sports TV streaming platform and
Nexstar Media reached a new multi-year distribution agreement.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika
Syamnath)
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