Futures inch up in anticipation of economic data, Fed meeting minutes
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[July 03, 2024] (Reuters)
- U.S. stock index futures edged higher in pre-holiday trading on
Wednesday, as investors geared up for an employment report among a slew
of economic data, along with minutes from the Federal Reserve's June
policy meeting.
The equity market will close early on Wednesday and stay shut on
Thursday on account of U.S. Independence Day, keeping trading volumes
thin throughout the week.
Reports on ADP National Employment and weekly jobless claims are due
before the opening bell, a day after data showed higher U.S. job
openings as well as layoffs in May. This also comes ahead of Friday's
closely watched non-farm payrolls data.
"Our view remains that we should see a slowing down of the employment
data over the coming months. If employment slows and the disinflation
trend is intact, Fed will deliver a September rate cut," Jefferies chief
Europe economist Mohit Kumar wrote.
Market participants see a 65% chance of the first rate cut in September,
and around two cuts by year end, as per LSEG's FedWatch data.
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The other data points on the watch list include factory orders and
services PMIs after markets open, along with the Fed's June meeting
minutes at 2 p.m. ET. New York Fed President John Williams is also set
to take the stage during the day.
Gains in Tesla and megacap stocks helped the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to
close at record highs on Tuesday, a day that also saw Fed Chair Jerome
Powell acknowledge the "disinflationary path," while also flagging the
need for more data before cutting interest rates.
"A 25-bps cut may not make much difference to the economy, but if the
Fed is proactive, then no one can blame Powell for not doing his job by
keeping rates higher for longer and engineering a slowdown," Jefferies'
Kumar added.
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![](../images/070324PIX/busine68.jpg)
A trader works inside a booth, as screens display a news conference
by Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell, on the floor of the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 1, 2024.
REUTERS/Stefan Jeremiah/File Photo
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Tesla rose 2.7% premarket after hitting its highest level since
January on Tuesday following a smaller-than-expected drop in
second-quarter vehicle deliveries.
Nvidia slipped 1.4%, in a recent choppy run for the AI chip leader
after its staggering gains since 2023, even when other semiconductor
stocks held their ground on the day.
As the S&P 500 has jumped over 15% in the first half of 2024,
largely supported by top-tier high momentum technology-related
stocks, the benchmark index's equal-weighted counterpart only rose
5%, signaling the lack of a broad-based market strength.
At 4:59 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 40 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500
e-minis were up 0.75 points, or 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were
up 11.5 points, or 0.06%.
Among other premarket movers, Paramount Global jumped 6.5% after
Shari Redstone's National Amusements reached a preliminary deal to
sell its controlling interest in the media giant to David Ellison's
Skydance Media.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
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