Wall Street was set to open slightly lower on Wednesday ahead of a holiday-shortened trading session, as investors assessed jobs data while being on the lookout for more economic reports and the Federal Reserve’s June policy meeting minutes.
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.
The ADP Employment report showed U.S. private payrolls increased a bit less than expected in June, consistent with slowing labor market momentum.
A separate data revealed weekly jobless claims rose to 238,000 in the week ended June 29, versus expectations of 235,000, with continued claims for the week ended June 22 rising to 1.858 million, stronger than forecasts of 1.84 million.
This comes ahead of Friday’s closely watched non-farm payrolls report, and a day after data signaled higher U.S. job openings as well as layoffs in May.
“It’s quite a strong unemployment claims number, and it’s fitting in with an overall trend that’s probably an indication of loosening up in the jobs market. It must be quite welcoming for the Fed,” said David Morrison, Trade Nation senior market analyst.
Wednesday’s data prompted market participants to hold on to their bets of the first rate cut arriving in September and around two cuts by the end of the year, as per LSEG’s FedWatch.
Wall St edges lower as Powell signals caution; Tesla jumps after delivery data
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.
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.
Tesla rose nearly 1% premarket after hitting its highest level since January on Tuesday following a smaller-than-expected drop in second-quarter vehicle deliveries.
However, Nvidia slipped 0.7%, in a recent choppy run for the AI chip leader after its staggering gains since 2023, with other megacaps including Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon.com also edging lower.
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