Futures Little Changed After Dow, S&P 500 Climb To Record Closing Highs

Stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Wednesday following the upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may take a step back from the markets following the advance seen to start the first full trading week of the new year.

However, it is worth noting that the futures were pointing to a roughly flat open on Tuesday before the Dow and the S&P 500 both climbed to new record closing highs over the course of the session.

The futures remained little changed after payroll processor ADP released a report showing private sector employment in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of December.

ADP said private sector employment rose by 41,000 jobs in December after falling by a revised 29,000 jobs in November.

Economists had expected private sector employment to climb by 47,000 jobs compared to the loss of 32,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

“Small establishments recovered from November job losses with positive end-of-year hiring, even as large employers pulled back,” said ADP chief economist Dr. Nela Richardson.

Not long after the start of trading, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on service sector activity in the month of December.

The services PMI is expected to edge down to 52.3 in December after inching up to 52.6 in November, although a reading above 50 would still indicate growth.

The Labor Department is also due to release its report on job openings in the month of November. Job openings are expected to slip to 7.65 million in November from 7.67 million in October.

After turning in a strong performance to kick off the first full trading week of the new year, stocks saw further upside during trading on Tuesday. With the continued upward move, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Dow jumped 484.90 points or 1.0 percent to 49,462.08, the Nasdaq climbed 151.35 points or 0.7 percent to 23,547.17 and the S&P 500 rose 42.77 points or 0.6 percent to 6,944.82.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index inched up by 0.1 percent and South Korea’s Kospi climbed by 0.6 percent.

The major European markets have also moved in opposite directions on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is just above the unchanged line and the German DAX Index is up by 0.7 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.36 to $56.77 a barrel after tumbling $1.19 to $57.13 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,452.10, down $44 compared to the previous session’s close of $4,496.10. On Tuesday, gold jumped $44.60.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.38 yen compared to the 156.62 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1692 compared to yesterday’s $1.1687.

Business News