Stock futures continue data-fueled rally

U.S. equity futures are higher heading into the Wednesday trading session on Wall Street.

The major futures indexes are suggesting a rise of 0.7%.

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Stocks have been boosted by positive economic data, even while the coronavirus pandemic has regions around the world battling recessions.

The remainder of the week will be dominated by employment figures with the biggest report of the month, the August jobs report due on Friday morning.

Traders on Wednesday will get to study the first of those employment-related reports, the ADP report on private sector hiring.

Private sector employment is expected to increase by 950 thousand, a big jump from July’s tally of 167 thousand new jobs.

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Later in the morning, the Commerce Department will report factory orders for July. They’re anticipated to show a healthy 6% rise on top of July’s 6.2% gain.

In Europe, London's FTSE is adding 1.7%, Germany's DAX is gaining 242% and France's CAC is up 2.4%.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei edged up 0.5%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.3% and China's Shanghai Composite was off 0.2%.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said construction spending in the U.S. edged higher in July, breaking a string of losses due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.

The Institute for Supply Management said its latest manufacturing index increased last month, reflecting a faster pace of expansion by American factories.

Wall Street kicked off September with another set of milestones Tuesday, as an afternoon rally carried the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite to all-time highs.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	38503.69	+263.71	+0.69%
SP500	S&P 500	5070.55	+59.95	+1.20%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	15696.639958	+245.33	+1.59%

The S&P 500 jumped 0.8% to 3,526.65. The index set several new highs last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered from early losses, climbing 0.8% to 28,645.66.

The Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%, to 11,939.67.

Traders have been favoring technology stocks as the pandemic has dragged on, forcing millions of people to rely more than ever on internet-connected devices and online services for work, home schooling and communication.

Apple climbed 4% Tuesday. It’s up more than 82% this year. Zoom Video Communications soared 40.8%, a day after the now-ubiquitous video conferencing service reported another quarter of explosive growth.

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Benchmark U.S. crude added 10 cents to $42.87 a barrel. It rose 15 cents to $42.76 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 7 cents to $45.65 a barrel.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.