Correction: Lower start to Wall Street is in the making.
Wednesday, 03 March 2021, 3:00 PM
(ABM FN-Dow Jones) US stock markets are heading to a lower open on Wednesday, after disappointing job numbers for the private sector.
The leading S&P 500 futures contract fell 0.2 percent in the red more than half an hour before the opening, and the Nasdaq futures also lost previous gains and indicated an opening loss of 0.5 percent.
Initially, futures were still in the green. The launch of vaccination programs in the United States and further progress toward a deal on more government stimulus have fueled optimism about the economic recovery.
The stock markets have been nervous over the past few days, alternating between profit and loss. On Tuesday, stock markets finally pulled back a step back after very strong gains on Monday, which counteracted the turmoil over the rise in bond yields the previous week.
On Wednesday, there were positive signs that Democrats were trying to bridge differences over unemployment benefits and other issues to finalize a $ 1.9 trillion bailout package in the coming days.
President Joe Biden said the United States will have enough coronavirus vaccines by the end of May to vaccinate all adults in the country, which is two months faster than initially expected.
“The launch of vaccines is going very well, compared to many expectations,” said Sima Shah of Principal Global Investors. “Although it appears that the economy may recover on its own, we have the potential for fiscal stimulus in the background, which is why so many are raising their expectations about US economic growth.”
Federal policy maker Lyle Brainard said Tuesday that the turmoil in bond markets in recent weeks is on its radar. She indicated that the Federal Reserve will not cut its support for the economy until the economy returns to more stable foundations.
Private sector employment grew by 117,000 in February, ADP reported. That’s well below the 225,000 the market was relying on. So Rabobank spoke about a disappointing report.
The US services PMI will follow from both ISM and Markit later in the day, with growth forecast in February. In the evening, the Fed publishes its Beige Book with anecdotal reports on the US economy.
The price of oil, which fell below $ 60 again on Tuesday, rose less strongly than it did earlier on Wednesday. WTI futures in April rose 1.2 percent to $ 60.49, while Brent crude futures in May rose 1.2 percent at $ 63.95.
The EUR / USD is traded at 1.2050. At the start of the European trading day, the currency pair moved at 1.2083 and when the US stock exchanges closed on Tuesday, the signals were showing 1.2089.
Company news
Hewlett Packard Enterprises raised its earnings forecast for 2021. For the second quarter, the company expects earnings per share between $ 0.02 and $ 0.08. For the full year of 2021, the company targets $ 0.48 to $ 0.66.
Digital health insurance company Oscar Health, known among New Yorkers through ads on the subway, has been released to the public. The move is expected to result in a value of the company at $ 8 billion.
Package delivery company FedEx announced on Wednesday that it will invest $ 2 billion on its way to becoming carbon neutral by 2040. The logistics giant will drive exclusively electric cars.
Run by billionaire Bonnie Ma, the Chinese company Tencent has invested in hundreds of tech startups with a whopping $ 250 billion worth and is now the most valuable Chinese company with $ 900 billion. The Wall Street Journal writes that the company is not doing e-commerce itself, and will be less sensitive to criticism from regulators than Jack Ma Alibaba.
Lock positions
The benchmark S&P 500 index closed 0.8 percent lower on Tuesday at 3,870.29 points. The Dow Jones index closed 0.5 percent in the red at 31,391.52 points, and the Technology Exchange NASDAQ fell 1.7 percent to 13,358.79 points.
Correction: to report correct futures positions.
ABM Financial News; [email protected]; Revised text: +31 (0) 20 26 28999.