U.S. stock index futures pointed to a largely flat start on Tuesday, suggesting Wall Street could struggle to find clear direction after closing the previous session slightly lower following volatile trading.
Investors appear cautious as they assess a mixed set of U.S. labor market figures, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the strength of the economy.
Data released earlier by the Labor Department showed job creation in November exceeded expectations, although the rebound followed a sharp decline the month before. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 64,000 in November after plunging by 105,000 in October. Economists had forecast an increase of around 50,000 jobs.
At the same time, the unemployment rate edged higher to 4.6% in November from 4.4% in September, coming in slightly above expectations for a rise to 4.5%.
Separately, figures from the Commerce Department indicated that U.S. retail sales were broadly unchanged in October. Overall sales were flat after a modest, downwardly revised 0.1% increase in September, falling short of expectations for a 0.2% gain.
Excluding autos and parts, however, retail sales increased by 0.4% in October, compared with a 0.1% rise in the prior month. Economists had been looking for a 0.3% advance in so-called core retail sales.
On Monday, stocks opened higher but quickly lost momentum early in the session. The major indexes retreated from their intraday highs and spent most of the day hovering close to unchanged levels before finishing modestly in the red.
The Nasdaq Composite fell 137.76 points, or 0.6%, to 23,057.41, while the S&P 500 slipped 10.90 points, or 0.2%, to 6,816.51. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 41.49 points, or 0.1%, to 48,416.56.
Early buying interest was partly driven by bargain hunting after Friday’s sharp selloff, but that support faded quickly. Ongoing concerns over heavy spending on artificial intelligence continued to weigh on shares of companies such as Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Oracle (NYSE:ORCL).
Caution was also evident ahead of several key U.S. economic releases due later this week, which could influence expectations for interest rates following the Federal Reserve’s policy decision last Wednesday.
Although the Fed delivered a widely anticipated quarter-point rate cut, policymakers’ projections highlighted a wide range of views on how much further rates may fall.
Sector-wise, computer hardware stocks extended last Friday’s steep losses, pulling the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down 2.9%. Software shares were also under pressure, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index falling 1.5%.
Telecom, networking and brokerage stocks saw notable declines as well, while pharmaceutical and healthcare shares stood out as areas of relative strength.