Stock futures pause following record start to month
Traders will digest the first of this week's employment-related reports with the ADP report on private sector jobs
U.S. equity futures are indicating a lower open when the Wall Street trading session begins on Wednesday.
The major futures indexes are suggesting a decline of 0.3%.
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On Tuesday, the S&P 500 gained 1.1% to 3,662.45, with Big Tech companies and banks driving a big part of the rally. The strong opening to December follows a 10.8% surge for the broad index in November, marking its best month since April. The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.3% to 12,355.11. Both indexes beat the record highs they set on Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6% to 29,823.92.
| 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% |
Traders will digest the first of this week's employment-related reports ahead of Friday's release of the November nonfarm payroll report.
The payroll processing firm ADP will release its’s National Employment report for November. Economists are looking for a gain of 410,000 private-sector jobs, up from a very disappointing 365,000 jobs added in October.
Asian shares were mixed in Wednesday's trading. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo edged 0.1% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.1% and China's Shanghai Composite index edged 0.1% lower.
Renewed talk of a possible U.S. stimulus package failed to drive major gains in most Asian markets. Investors adopted a “wait and see" approach after earlier failed attempts to forge an agreement on additional help for the economy as the U.S. endures fresh waves of coronavirus infections and lockdowns.
In Europe, London's FTSE added 0.2%, Germany's DAX fell 0.3% and France's CAC slipped 0.2%.
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Stocks have been ramping higher in recent weeks as investors focus on the possibility that coronavirus vaccines could soon help usher in a fuller global economic recovery.
Drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech said Wednesday they've won permission for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, the world’s first coronavirus shot that’s backed by rigorous science — and a major step toward eventually ending the pandemic.
PFIZER AND BIONTECH’S COVID-19 VACCINE WINS UK AUTHORIZATION -- FIRST IN THE WEST
Traders are also holding out hope that Democrats and Republicans may reach a deal on some amount of economic stimulus for the economy before 2021, but the parties remain divided on the details and the cost.
Biden on Tuesday repeated calls for Congress to pass immediate pandemic relief funding even before he takes office.
Salesforce.com shares fell 4% in after-hours trading after the business software pioneer announced it is buying work chatting service Slack for $27.7 billion. The acquisition is by far the largest in the 21-year history of San Francisco-based Salesforce.
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In other trading, U.S. benchmark crude oil fell 32 cents to $44.22 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It lost 79 cents to $44.55 per barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 21 cent to $47.21 per barrel.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.