(Reuters) – Wall Street index futures fell on Tuesday as mega-cap stocks fell after a strong session, while caution was urged ahead of job-opening data and a raft of other key U.S. labor market reports due out throughout the week as a guide to monetary policy.
Microsoft, Apple and Amazon.com fell in premarket trading after jumping 2%-3% the previous day. Tesla lost 1% after Monday’s 6% jump ahead of the EV maker’s June quarter deliveries, which are expected to decline for the first time in two straight quarters.
AI chip leader Nvidia also fell 1.4%, while other semiconductor stocks including Micron Technology, Marvell Technology and Arm Holdings also fell nearly 1%.
On the data front, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will be released after the market closes. It is expected to show that the number of job openings fell to 7.910 million in May, from 8.059 million the previous month.
These data are critical in determining the health of the U.S. labor market, which remains somewhat resilient despite decades of high interest rates (a key determinant of the economy’s health).
Other jobs data expected during the week include ADP National Employment, weekly jobless claims and non-farm payrolls. Other printouts also scheduled for the week include factory orders and services PMI, along with minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
With the stock market closed on Thursday for US Independence Day, trading volume is expected to be low throughout the week.
As recent data point to renewed moderation in inflation and some signs of economic weakness, market participants are sticking to their bets on two rate cuts before the end of this year, starting in September, FedWatch data from LSEG showed.
“We continue to see some softening of US exceptionalism, with growing pressure on US consumers in particular, while US labour market tightness has eased,” OCBC analysts said.
“Our house continues to expect two rate cuts in 2024, with the first cut occurring sometime in the third quarter.”
In addition, investors will also be analyzing comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in a policy panel ahead of the European Central Bank’s forum on central banking.
At 5:31 a.m. ET, the Dow e-minis were down 124 points, or 0.31%, the S&P 500 e-minis were down 23.25 points, or 0.42%, and the Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 102.25 points, or 0.51%.
One of the big risers in the premarket is Paramount Global, which rose 4.6% after billionaire Barry Diller’s digital media conglomerate IAC makes a bid to take control of the media giant.
Atlassian rose 1.9% after Piper Sandler upgraded the enterprise software maker to overweight from neutral, while CrowdStrike Holdings fell 2.1% after the same broker downgraded the cybersecurity firm to neutral from overweight.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
