Stock index futures ticked higher on Wednesday, a day after Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed at record highs.
The stock market will close early at 1 p.m. ET and the bond market will close at 2 p.m. ET ahead of the July 4 holiday. But even with the shortened trading hours, there is a slew of economic data as July 3 isn’t a federal holiday.
S&P 500 futures (SPX) +0.1%, Nasdaq 100 futures (US100:IND) +0.1% and Dow futures (INDU) +0.1%.
The 10-year Treasury yield (US10Y) was unchanged at 4.43%. The 2-year yield (US2Y) rose 1 basis point to 4.76%. See how Treasury yields have done across the curve at the Seeking Alpha bond page.
U.S. stocks on Tuesday moved higher after midday following a period of fluctuation, eventually ending in positive territory. The sentiment was partly driven by a surge in Tesla’s (TSLA) shares after the Elon Musk-led firm beat consensus estimates on quarterly deliveries. Markets also reacted favorably to slightly dovish comments on inflation from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.
“However, Powell’s optimistic remarks on disinflation were countered by the latest JOLTS report of job openings, which showed a tighter labor market than expected,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said.
“On balance, the more dovish tones won out though, and investors became a bit more confident in the prospect of rate cuts this year,” Reid added.
Market participants will witness plenty of macroeconomic data today. The June Challenger job cut and the ADP jobs reports are expected to come before the bell. The latter is expected to show a rise of 163K.
The initial jobless claims data are also due shortly after, and are expected to rise to 234K.
“We expect initial claims above the consensus for the fifth time in six weeks; summer data will be volatile,” Pantheon Macroeconomics said.
May international trade in goods and services will land at the same time, and is anticipated to show a wider deficit to -$76.30B.
The June S&P global services PMI is expected to come during market hours, and is forecasted to rise to 55.1. The ISM non-manufacturing PMI is anticipated to come in at 52.6.
“The June ISM services survey will probably provide further signs of disinflation ahead,” Pantheon Macro added.
Other economic releases include, factory orders and FOMC minutes.