Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Aug. 22, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
Aug 31, 2010 U.S. stock indexes edged lower on Wednesday, with technology and growth stocks trailing as investors awaited a gauge of how quickly the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates against the highest inflation rate in decades.
The three major indexes were poised for monthly losses, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) down more than 4% after comments Friday by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that monetary policy would remain tight “for some time.”
Meanwhile, mixed economic data pointing to inflationary pressures and a strong labor market weighed on investors’ minds heading into September, which is traditionally a weak month for stock market returns.
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The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) is up 9.6% from a mid-June low but remains in a bear market after falling earlier this year.
The ADP National Employment Report, due at 08:15 a.m. ET, expects private payrolls to increase by 288,000 in August. A reading on the Chicago PMI follows after the market opens in August.
On Tuesday, data showed US job openings rose to 11.239 million in July, pushing stocks lower for a third straight session.
It also comes ahead of more comprehensive and closely watched jobs data on Friday, August. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 300,000 jobs last month after rising by 528,000 in July.
Any signs of a cooling labor market will be welcomed by the markets as this will reduce pressure on the Fed to stick with rate hikes.
Heavyweight technology and growth stocks such as Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), Alphabet Inc ( GOOGL.O ) and Nvidia Corp ( NVDA.O ) have taken a beating over the past few days as Treasury yields hit higher on expectations of higher rate hikes. It rose between 0.6% and 0.8% in premarket trading.
At 07:07 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 25 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 10.25 points, or 0.26%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 83.75 points, or 0.68%.
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Netflix Inc ( NFLX.O ) gained 1.9% after hiring two of social media firm Snap Inc’s ( SNAP.N ) chief executives to help the streamer with its ad-supported tiering plan. Shares of Snap fell 6.1 percent. Read more
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Reporting by Devik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila
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