The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to move to the upside following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session.
The Dow is likely to regain ground after closing lower in the two previous sessions amid a surge by shares of Salesforce (CRM).
Salesforce is spiking by 11.9 percent in pre-market trading after the enterprise software company reported better than expected fiscal third quarter revenues.
The futures remained positive after payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of November.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 146,000 jobs in November after jumping by a downwardly revised 184,000 jobs in October.
Economists had expected private sector employment to grow by 165,000 jobs compared to the surge of 233,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report, which includes both public and private sector jobs.
Economists currently expect employment to jump by 200,000 jobs in November after inching up by 12,000 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate is expected to tick up to 4.2 percent from 4.1 percent.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later this afternoon.
Following the mixed performance seen during Monday’s session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday. Despite the choppy trading, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 once again reached new record closing highs.
The major averages eventually ended the day mixed. While the Dow dipped 76.47 points or 0.2 percent to 44,705.53, the Nasdaq rose 76.96 points or 0.4 percent to 19,480.91 and the S&P 500 crept up 2.73 points or 0.1 percent to 6,049.88.
A relatively light day on the U.S. economic front may have kept traders on the sidelines, although the Labor Department released a report showing job openings increased by more than expected in the month of October.
The Labor Department said job openings climbed to 7.744 million in October from a downwardly revised 7.372 million in September.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 7.480 million from the 7.443 million originally reported for the previous month.
The economic calendar picks up in the coming days, with the Labor Department due to release its closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
The data and remarks by several Federal Reserve officials could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed’s next monetary policy meeting later this month.
CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 72.1 percent chance the Fed cuts rates by another 25 basis points but a 27.9 percent chance the central bank leaves rates unchanged.
“The Fed’s December 18th decision will be a close one, but if the majority of voting members prioritize the employment mandate, markets should expect a cut in policy rates, supporting risk appetite,” said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial.
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day.
Gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index spiking by 3.5 percent. The rally by gold stocks came amid a modest increase by the price of the precious metal.
On the other hand, transportation stocks moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down by 2.0 percent.
Computer hardware and biotechnology stocks also saw notable weakness, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index both falling by 1.2 percent.
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