(Reuters) -Wall Street futures were subdued on Thursday as investors awaited indications on the U.S. economy and the monetary policy path after President Donald Trump signed a bill ending the longest government shutdown in the country’s history.
At 5:25 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 37 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 4 points, or 0.06% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 20.75 points, or 0.08%.
Markets will closely monitor the flow of economic data from key statistical agencies, with the absence of data leaving both the Federal Reserve and traders guessing on the health of the labor market and the inflation trajectory.
Still, some data gaps are likely to be permanent, with the White Housing saying employment and Consumer Price Indexes reports for October might never be released.
“Six-plus weeks of delayed data will start to be released, likely beginning early next week. It will take time to catch up, and there could still be less than full data availability for the next Fed meeting,” Tom Nelson, head of market strategy at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, said in a note.
“This could prove problematic, with Fed members both calling for larger cuts and others preferring a pause to assess with a full slate of data.”
Data from private firms in recent weeks have raised concerns about a weakening U.S. job market.
U.S. employers shed more than 11,000 jobs a week through late October, according to payroll processor ADP. Separate data from Indeed Hiring Lab showed retail-related job postings dropped 16% in October compared to last year.
Traders are currently pricing in a 55% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut in December, lower than last week’s 70%, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
A bright spot, Cisco Systems’ shares rose 6.5% in premarket trading after the company raised full-year profit and revenue forecasts betting on demand for its networking equipment amid a data center expansion fueled by artificial intelligence.
Technology and AI names have come under pressure lately, with the Nasdaq falling in the past two sessions, as investors rotated out of pricey tech stocks into traditionally defensive areas such as healthcare and consumer staples.
The Dow has benefited from the rotation, notching back-to-back record highs after lagging gains of the S&P and the Nasdaq this year.
Nvidia was down 0.6% in premarket trading, while Intel and Advanced Micro Devices fell 0.3% and 0.7%, respectively.
AI bellwether Nvidia’s earnings next week could further test the optimism around the technology which has driven markets to record highs this year, but come under more scrutiny in recent weeks.
With the third-quarter earnings season almost under wraps, notable earnings for the day include Walt Disney.
JD.com shares rose 3% as the e-commerce giant topped market estimates for quarterly revenue.
Among other moves, shares of some memory chipmakers fell after results from Japan’s Kioxia Holdings.
Micron Technology fell 1.5%. Western Digital and Sandisk dropped over 3% each.
(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru)
Comments