On Wednesday, US stock futures increased as investors paid attention to data suggesting further softening in the labour sector.
Futures for the S&P 500 (\GSPC) increased by 0.3%, while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (\DJI) increased by 0.2%. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 (\NDX) increased by 0.4% following a mixed close on Tuesday.
Wednesday saw more indications of a slowdown in the labour market, as the ADP measure of private payroll growth fell short of forecasts and revealed 103,000 new positions in November.
This happened after the Fed’s dismal data on job vacancies on Tuesday increased expectations of a rate decrease. At least 100 basis points of cutbacks are factored in by the markets for next year. However, policy remains uncertain, with experts cautioning that those wagers appear “overdone.”
In the meanwhile, as additional individual investors jumped in, supporting expectations of rate reduction and upcoming spot bitcoin ETFs, bitcoin (BTC-USD) momentarily surpassed $44,000. After recording its longest winning run since May on Tuesday, the top digital asset has subsequently given back those gains.
Later, when the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Bank of America (BAC), among other companies, testify before the Senate banking committee, investors will get a glimpse into the country’s biggest banks.