After ending the previous session modestly lower, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Wednesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 106 points.

Stocks appear poised to extend their recent upward move following the brief pause on Tuesday, which saw the Nasdaq and S&P 500 edge down slightly from Monday’s record closing highs.

Trading activity may remain somewhat subdued, however, as traders continue to look ahead to the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

Economists currently expect employment to jump by 750,000 jobs in August after surging by 943,000 jobs in July. The unemployment rate is expected to dip to 5.2 percent from 5.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the futures did not show much reaction to a report from payroll processor ADP showing much weaker than expected private sector job growth in the month of August.

ADP said private sector employment climbed by 374,000 jobs in August after rising by a downwardly revised 326,000 jobs in July.

Economists had expected employment to jump by 613,000 jobs compared to the addition of 330,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

“The Delta variant of COVID-19 appears to have dented the job market recovery,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics. “Job growth remains strong, but well off the pace of recent months.”

Shortly after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on activity in the manufacturing sector in the month of August.

The ISM’s manufacturing PMI is expected to slip to 58.6 in August from 59.5 in July, although a reading above 50 would still indicate growth in the sector.

The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on construction spending in the month of July. Construction spending is expected to inch up by 0.2 percent.

Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Tuesday before ending the day modestly lower. Trading activity was relatively subdued, leading to the lackluster performance.

The major averages ended the day just below the unchanged line. The Dow slipped 39.11 points or 0.1 percent to 35,360.73, the Nasdaq edged down 6.66 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 15,259.24 and the S&P 500 dipped 6.11 points or 0.1 percent to 4,522.68.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has surged up by 1.3 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.7 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.15 to $68.65 a barrel after sliding $0.71 to $68.50 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is unchanged compared to the previous session’s close of $1,818.10. On Tuesday, gold climbed $5.90.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 110.07 yen compared to the 110.02 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1838 compared to yesterday’s $1.1809.

Business News




U.S. Stocks May Resume Upward Move Following Brief Pause

2021-09-01 12:51:00

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